Unlocking the Gates
by I-Eat-My-Vegetables
Summary: Arianna enters the night class and is shunned because she refuses to show her emotions. One boy is able to see through her façade and stirs the emotions she has kept hidden for so long. What lies beneath her emotionless mask? IchijoXOC.
1. Entering Cross Academy

Unlocking the Gates

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Vampire Knight. If I did then Zero would smile more and be happy!

'Why? Why did I have to come to this school?' a teenage girl thought as she sat in the backseat of my family's car. 'I can't deal with being around so many people at once; doesn't nii-san know that?' Sighing she turned to look out of the window at the forest, just a blur of green through the glass.

"Arianna-sama, we will be at Cross Academy shortly" the driver said nervously.

"Hai" she said simply, slightly upset at the nervousness evident in his voice but not showing it. She had never done anything to him, but that didn't stop him from being afraid of her just like everyone else.

'People fear me because of my refusal to express any type of emotion.' She thought 'I do it for their safety, because if I show these emotions that I keep hidden deep inside I could harm anyone close to me. I have to keep my emotions stable otherwise my powers will slip from my control. That's right; my powers are linked to my emotions, meaning I have to keep strict control over them to keep them from harming anyone or anything. It happened when I was a child I think. Something terrible must have happened to link my powers to my emotions in order to protect me. I still don't recall anything but that's because I was very young. It was before okaa-san adopted me and brought me into her family.' she thought sadly as she turned away from the window.

"We have arrived Arianna-sama" said the driver as he opened up his door. In the time that she had been thinking about her past they had arrived at Cross Academy.

Getting out of the car she looked at her new surroundings. 'It's beautiful' she thought in awe. 'I had always loved gothic structures like the architecture of this academy.' she thought inwardly smiling.

"Ari!" shouted a familiar voice in the distance. Turning around she saw her brother waving while walking towards her with a blonde girl behind him.

"Hello nii-san" she quietly said, knowing that he would be able to hear her with his enhanced hearing.

"I'm glad that you decided to come to Cross Academy, Ari. I've missed you while I've been away from school." He said calmly, returning to his normal self after the excitement of seeing his younger sister.

"This is Rima, my modeling partner" he said turning towards the blond girl next to him and gesturing towards her.

"Hello" Ari said emotionlessly hoping that Rima wouldn't think that she was being disrespectful of her when Ari gave her monotonous answer.

"Shiki" said Rima quietly looking towards him, "don't forget that we have to take her to meet the chairman before we go back to the moon dorms."

"Un" said nii-san while looking at the girl, Rima, Ari reminded herself.

'She is obviously someone important to him since he brought her with him to greet me.' thought Ari with surprise. Nii-san had never mentioned her before.

"The chairman's office is this way Ari" said nii-san with a nod of his red hair in the direction of the biggest building, "we need to take you to get your uniform and to meet him. He'll want to tell you all of the rules of Cross Academy."

"Hai" Ari said emotionlessly once again as they headed toward the direction of the big building but inside Ari was nervous, wondering what kind of man the ex-vampire hunter turned chairman was.

'I may refuse to express my emotions but that doesn't mean that I don't feel them, I just keep them bottled up inside.' she thought regretfully. 'Nii-san knows that I do this and he doesn't like it. He keeps telling me that one day I'm going to explode from the pressure of keeping everything inside.'

Ari kept thinking of all the different types of man the chairman could be while they walked into the building, careful to keep her expression neutral and not let Shiki-nii or Rima-san know of my thoughts. After a few minutes of walking they finally reached the chairman's office and nii-san knocked on the door. They were immediately let into a spacious room with a desk in the middle by a window. Sitting behind the desk was the man Ari supposed was the chairman, who defied all of her expectations of him. He was swathed in layers of blankets resting on his shoulders and seemed cheerful and genuinely happy. Then she noticed who sat in front of the desk, Kuran Kaname. When she saw him her heart skipped a beat. Ari had expected to see him here, just not so soon.

"Kaname-sama" Ari murmured bowing respectfully towards him. Turning she bowed and acknowledged the chairman also "Chairman" she said monotonously.

"It has been a while, hasn't it Arianna" said Kaname-sama calmly, looking into her eyes.

"Hai, Kaname-sama" Ari said thinking back to when she last saw him.

_"Remember to always keep your emotions in check Arianna" said Kaname looking straight into her eyes to make sure she understood how important what he was saying was.  
"If you do not, it could cost the lives of everyone you love and care for" and with that he turned around and left. _

Kaname-sama had been the one to teach her to control her emotions so that her powers did not escape her control and because of that she has always looked up to him.

'He's the one who saved me and everyone I love from myself.' she thought sadly as she remembered who she once was.

"It's very nice to meet you Arianna-san, I hope you enjoy your time here at Cross Academy" said the chairman happily, excited to have a new student.

"Hai, arigato for letting me come here" Ari said tonelessly "I am very honored"

The chairman didn't seem to be affected by her monotone so Kaname must have warned him about it.

"Now, here is the uniform for the night class students. Why don't you go try it on in the bathroom through the door to your left?" said the chairman smiling.

Nodding and looking off at the old wooden door to her left she walked towards it and into a small bathroom to change. Looking down at the shirt, jacket and skirt she inwardly sighed in disgust.

'White, just perfect, I hate that color.' she thought angrily. 'I always manage to spill something on myself. I'm a vampire for crying out loud, how do I manage to spill things on me? I'm supposed to be graceful and poised, whatever.' she sighed inwardly once again.

Ari put on the uniform and walked out of the bathroom and back into the main room with the chairman. She noticed that Shiki, Rima, and Kaname had left while she was in the bathroom leaving her with the crazy chairman.

'Great, just great' she thought dejectedly.

"Squeee!"

'Shit! What the hell was that, some kind of rabid animal?!' she thought getting ready to duck if anything foaming at the mouth came after her.

Then the chairman came running towards her babbling something about being cute.

"You look so adorable Arianna!" He said loudly an octave higher than what Ari assumed was his usual tone.

"The white really makes your hair and eyes stand out!" the chairman said excitedly.

Turning and looking in the mirror across from her she realized that he was right. Her sapphire blue eyes and should blade length raven black hair contrasted nicely with the white of the uniform. The uniform also made her pale skin look even whiter.

'I don't know if that's good or not, but there's nothing I can do about it.' she thought resolutely. 'I can't tolerate sunlight at all! Every time I go into it I have to wear dark sun glasses and carry a dark umbrella with me as well as cover up every exposed part of my skin.'

"Now that we've got your uniform I can tell you about the rules of Cross Academy." said the chairman happily once again.

At this point Ari tuned him out and stared out the window behind him.

'The good thing about always having appearing emotionless is that no one can tell if I'm paying attention to them or not. They're usually too afraid to confront me about it.' She thought with a small bit of happiness.

Realizing that the chairman was finishing up his speech she tuned back in and listened to the end of his lecture.

"Now remember that you are NOT allowed outside while the day class students are out. Just as the day class students are not allowed out after nightfall." he said, for once sounding absolutely serious.

Nodding her head in understanding he smiled glad that she accepted the rules.

"That's all then" he said while still smiling at Ari. "You may go to the moon dorm now. Do you need someone to escort you there? I can have my cute daughter Yuuki come help you find your way there" he said hopefully.

"No, I can find my way there on my own, arigato for the offer." Ari said while getting up to leave. The chairman nodded his head in understanding.

"I hope you enjoy Cross Academy Arianna-san" he said as she walked to the door.

"Hai" and with that Ari left the chairman's office to go to the moon dorm.

So… what do you think? This is my first fanfiction so R&R please! I would like to know whether or not I should continue this story.

I-Eat-My-Vegetables


	2. An Unexpected Meeting

**Disclaimer: **I do not own vampire knight. If I did Aido would be completely in love with me… hahahaha, I wish.

Review Replies:

**Patriot16**: Thanks for the review! I hope I meet your expectations and keep you attention in the following chapters!

Thank you everyone who read my last chapter and I hope I keep you hooked in the following chapters. Constructive criticism is welcome, that's how a writer gets better! Feel free to tell me anything that you think I should improve on or if there are any grammar errors. Now on with the story

**Unlocking the Gate**:

Meeting the moon dorm residents.

As Ari walked towards the moon dorms she once again admired the beauty of Cross Academy's campus. The moon was shining down through the trees creating eerie shadows that even her enhanced eyes couldn't see through. She could hear the hooting of owls and rustling of mice and other small creatures in the forest. Eventually she spotted what she was looking for, the moon dorms. When she came closer to the dorms the sounds of animals rooting around in the forest abruptly disappeared. Wary, she glanced around looking for what was disturbing the animals. Then a delicious smell reached her nose… blood. Someone was bleeding close by. She followed her nose to the smell until she came upon two girls kneeling behind some thick bushes. One of them had a small cut on the palm of her hand. When Ari saw the cut and the blood still oozing out of it her eyes turned crimson for a few brief seconds. She could hear them talking to each other, debating on whether they should go back to their dorms or stay to take pictures of the night class. Deciding that it was time to show herself she stepped out of from behind the tree she had been standing behind and startling the girls in the process.

"You're not supposed to be out at night" said Ari quietly and without emotion to the girls.

"W-we just wanted to t-take some pictures, s-sempai." one of the girls stuttered. "G-g-gomen nasai" the said the other one.

'I'm frightening them' thought Ari sadly. 'But better for them to be frightened and listen to me than not and get themselves hurt out here' she thought decidedly while taking out her handkerchief and tearing it into strips.

"Here, let me wrap your hand" said Ari leaning over towards the girl with the cut on her palm.

The girl reluctantly showed her hand to Ari, letting her bandage the cut.

"There" said Ari as she finished wrapping up the girl's hand.

'It's a good thing that I have experience control my emotions and fed before I came. Otherwise this could have been very dangerous for the human girl' she thought with relief while she stood up from her bent position.

Suddenly there was a crack of a branch in the tree above them. Reacting instantly Ari got into a crouched position ready to attack whoever or whatever was in the tree or defend the girls next to her. All the warning Ari had that something was jumping out of the tree was the sudden movement of air toward her, bringing with it the scent of a human. Ari jumped in front of the two girls just as something cam hurtling down where she had previously been standing revealing a human girl with a metal staff. The girl pointed the staff towards Ari menacingly.

"Please step away from the girls" she said with resolve then her expression changed when she took in my appearance. "You're wearing the night class uniform. Are you the new night class student?"

"Hai" said Ari eyeing the staff that was still being pointed at her.

"What were you doing with those girls?" she asked curiously with a hint of suspicion. "I'm sure the chairman told you the rules, right?"

"Hai" Ari answered once again with any inflection in my voice. "I smelled blood" Ari explained hoping that the girl would understand that she wasn't trying to harm the humans.

"Sempai found us out here and asked us to go back to our dorm, Yuuki-chan." explained the girl Ari had helped earlier. "She even bandaged my hand for me… see." said the injured girl while showing the girl, Yuuki, her bandaged hand.

"Oh… you were helping her?" Yuuki asked surprised.

Ari nodded her head in acknowledgment then decided that she may not be able to see her well in the darkness. "Hai" Ari finally said. "I was heading towards the moon dorm when I… noticed them." Ari said, careful not to let anything slip with humans near.

Nodding in understanding Yuuki smiled at Ari and held out her hand in the western style.

"I'm Yuuki, one of the prefects of Cross Academy. You can call me Yuuki-chan since you helped the day class girls" she said while smiling gently at me.

"I'm Arianna. You can call me Ari" Ari said shortly, not sure how to respond to such kindness from a stranger, while taking Yuuki's hand gently in her own and shaking it.

"You're a new night class student" said the uninjured girl excitedly. "Can I have a picture of you… please?"

"Day class student are strictly prohibited from leaving the sun dorms at night. Go back to your rooms at once." said Yuuki formally and firmly. She seemed to have forgotten that they were there while she was introducing herself to Ari but remembered once they asked for the picture.

"It was nice to meet you Ari-san. I hope I see you again soon." she said still smiling towards me. "Right now I need to get these girls safely back to their dorm. Bye!" she said while pulling both girls gently back towards the sun dorm.

Deciding that Shiki-nii would start to worry soon Ari headed towards the moon dorm. Hoping that this time there wouldn't be any delays, she was starting to get tired from the long day. After a couple minutes of walking through the campus she came to the gates of the moon dorm and was let inside after a man looked at her with suspicion definite in his eyes. She must have passed his test though since he let her in. Walking up to the big wooden doors she subtly took a deep breath to center and prepare herself for meeting the occupants of the moon dorm. Knocking on the door it was opened almost immediately by her brother, Shiki.

"I was wondering where you had gotten to you" he said with a tiny smile on his face.

"I had an unexpected meeting with the school prefect" Ari said monotonously but with a hint of humor in her eyes causing Shiki to full out smile.

'Only Shiki-nii understands when I'm joking.' thought Ari, slightly happy to have someone around who understood her.

"I see, which one may I ask?" he asked curiously.

"Yuuki-chan" Ari answered.

"Yuuki-_chan_?" asked a new voice from behind Shiki-nii. The new voice was followed by the head that the voice came from covered in wavy blond hair with bright blue eyes.

"Why are _you _allowed to call her Yuuki-chan?" he asked with a hint of anger in his eyes. "She always becomes angry when I call her that!"

"She asked me to." Ari replied without hesitation monotonously.

"Aido. Please leave my little sister alone" asked Shiki-nii.

"She's your little sister?" asked Aido

"Hai" he replied shortly while staring at Aido.

"What are the two of you doing standing in the door like that? You're keeping our new classmate from entering her new home" said a cheerful voice from behind Aido and Shiki-nii.

"Ah, gomen Ari" said Shiki-nii apologetically while he moved aside to let me into the moon dorm.

That's when Ari saw the speaker. He had straight blond hair and when she looked into his eyes she almost lost herself in the kindness that was almost overflowing in them.

"It's nice to meet you Arianna-san, I'm Ichijo Takuma" he said smiling towards me with no ill intent or fear. "I hope you enjoy your stay in the moon dorm and if you need anything don't hesitate to ask me. I'll show you to your room if you would like."

He seemed uncertain now.

'Crap… I've been staring at him for too long. What do I say' Ari thought in an internal panic.

"Arigato" was all that monotonously came out of her mouth while she internally berated herself for her short answer.

'He probably thinks that I don't like him now and after he was so kind to me. I thought that I could actually be friends with him.' Ari thought while she looked down, semi-afraid to look back up to see the hurt or anger in his eyes. But when she looked back up into his eyes they remained the same, full of kindness.

"If you're ready then please follow me." he said easily smiling and heading towards the staircase to go to the upper floors while Ari stood there trying to figure out why he was still being so kind to her.

Turning around he looked back at Ari and smiled "Are you coming?" he asked.

"Ah… Hai" I mumbled while walking quickly to catch up to him.


	3. Meeting Ichijo Takuma

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Vampire Knight. If I did Aido would have all the sweets he could eat!

If anyone has any suggestions for the disclaimer feel free to tell me (I'm running out of ideas). I'll give credit for the disclaimer to you.

Author's note: Thanks everyone who read or reviewed the last chapter. I really appreciate it, especially the reviews! They're what keep me writing this fanfic. If you have any problems don't hesitate to tell me so that I can improve on my writing.

I also want to thank Princesa de la Luna for reviewing the past two chapters. Thank you!

Woohoo! Over 150 hits! That makes me so happy!

**Unlocking the Gates:**

Meeting Ichijo Takuma

"So… are you excited about being at Cross Academy Ari-chan?" asked Ichijo while turning around to smile at her.

"Hai" said Ari while internally asking herself why he was calling her Ari-chan when they just met a few minutes ago.

"It's so great to have you here. I'm really looking forward to getting to know you better!" he said while turning to the right down a hallway after reaching the top of the stairs.

"Hmmmm…" said Ari intelligently in agreement, unsure how to reply to his statement. No one had ever desired to get closer to her after meeting her. Most had done their best to avoid her after meeting her.

"Here we are." said Ichijo-san while gesturing towards a solid looking wooden door. "This is your room. You won't have a roommate since Seiran doesn't want to share her room with anyone and the other girls already have roommates." he said looking towards her in worry. "Is that all right with you?"

"Hai" she said once again.

'He's going to think I'm an idiot if I keep this up.' She thought while watching Ichijo-san unlock the door to her room. 'I should try to say something else… but what do I say? I've never had to keep up a conversation with anyone before. Shiki-nii knows that I don't like to talk that much and Okaa-san doesn't speak much either.' She thought with something near to panic inside while walking into her new room.

"Arigato for showing me to my room, Ichijo-san." said Ari turning around and bowing respectfully towards him, her face an emotionless mask. Ichijo-san looked slightly shocked for a minute before smiling widely at her.

"You're welcome Ari-chan!" he said happily. "I was worried that I had angered you somehow earlier since you hadn't spoken much." he said with a sheepish smile.

"Iie" said Ari. "Most people don't like being around me, so I wasn't sure how to respond to your kindness at first." She said emotionlessly.

"Ano…. if you don't mind me asking, why don't you show emotion?" he asked hesitantly, afraid to hurt her feelings.

"If I allowed my emotions to escape from my control I could kill everyone around me. My emotions are linked to my powers." said Ari to Ichijo-san.

"Ahhh… that explains a lot, so you're not emotionless, you just don't show your emotions in fear that if you did you would hurt those close to you. You drive people away so that you don't hurt them." He said with understanding and something close to pity in his eyes.

"…. Hai" Ari said hesitantly surprised that he understood so quickly but not wanting his sympathy.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is your power? Shiki never said what it was." he asked with curiosity.

"Darkness" Ari said looking him straight in the eyes. Then she went to shut the door, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

"Matte!" he said grabbing hold of the door before it swung closed. "I'm sorry for bringing it up. It's obviously a touchy subject for you." He said with concern etched on his face. "I hope this won't ruin our chances of friendship? I'd really like to get to know you; you're different than the others here. You may _act_ emotionless like the others but I can tell you're a very kind person. You wouldn't lock away your emotions if you didn't care about what would happen to the people around you."

"Why are you so kind Ichijo-san?" asked Ari, confused as to why he would be so kind to someone like her.

"I just want everyone to be happy A-chan and that includes you. Have a nice evening." he said as he let go of Ari's door allowing her to finally close it.

As Ari closed her door she was surprised to feel a smile trying to pull up the corners of her mouth. She hadn't felt the urge to smile since she was a child and the feeling was very foreign.

'How is this boy that I barely know able to get such a strong reaction from me?' wondered Ari as she looked around her room to make sure that her luggage had been put away correctly. 'I'll have to keep my guard up around him. It's too easy to just let everything go while he's around' she thought while imagining his beautiful kind green eyes looking at her with such compassion even though they only just met. Shaking her head to rid herself of her thoughts of him Ari went to her closet to find something more comfortable than the Cross Academy uniform to wear.

'These uniforms are ridiculous.' she thought while searching through her closet. 'Aha, found it' she thought happily while bringing out a pair of faded black sweat pants that were obviously too big for her. Turning around she searched through her dresser, pulling out a worn deep blue shirt that would hang loosely on her. Changing quickly she sighed in relief once they were on she tossed her uniform onto a chair. After tossing the uniform on the chair she felt bad, since the maids would most likely put it away when they saw it. She didn't want to cause them any more work than they already had to do. Ari walked over to the chair and picked up her uniform, carefully placing it on a hanger and putting it in her closet. Looking around her room she decided that she liked it. The colors of the room were all warm and comforting, deep greens, blues and browns. The bed was large and soft looking with plenty of pillows piled on top of it. The dressers were all solid heavy pieces of oak beautifully carved depicting forest scenes. The room was somewhere where she would be able to rest and relax without worry of others interrupting her peace. The best part was that it was _hers_. If she wanted to she could lock it and no one would be able to bother her. Then again this was a dorm filled with vampires and she doubted that a door would stop any of them from getting through if they were determined. A knock on the door suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

"Ari" came Shiki-nii's voice through the door. "It's time for dinner, are you coming down?" Ari opened the door, startling her brother. She then nodded her head indicating that she would go down for dinner.

Author's note: Dun dun duuunnn… what's going to happen at dinner I wonder?

I would like to know if people think that I'm going to slow with the plot or if I should speed things up. Please tell me so that I can improve on my writing. I'm not sure if the pace I'm setting is fine or not. Right now I'm just writing what comes to my head.

I also want to clear things up in case people were confused about Ari and how she hides her emotions. She _has_ emotions, she just doesn't show them because her powers would escape her control if she did. The question is; does she really need to hide them to keep them under control? Just wanted to leave you with that little tidbit to think about!

I-Eat-My-Vegetables


	4. Dinner and Confrontations

**Unlocking the Gates:**

Dinner and Confrontations

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Vampire Knight. If I did Kaname would actually smile! Brightly Burning is owned by Mercedes Lackey

A/N: I hope people are enjoying reading this fanfic and remember that reviews make an author ecstatic!

This chapter has minor language.

'I wonder what we're having for dinner.' thought Ari curiously as she walked down the stairs towards the dining room. 'It's probably something really tasty. Maybe they'll have cookies for dessert.' She thought with happiness while imagining oatmeal raison cookies fresh from the oven and still hot. Sighing, she terminated that vision since the vampire nobles were used to high class food, not simple things like oatmeal cookies. When she got closer, to what she hoped was the dining room, she heard voices coming from inside. As she walked into the room it became dead silent as everyone stared at her.

'They were talking about me. If they hadn't been talking about me then they wouldn't have gotten so quiet when I came into the room.' thought Ari, careful not to show that she was upset. She kept her expression neutral and eyes blank as she walked into the room. She walked over to an empty chair next to Aido and started to take a seat in it, only to have him stop her.

"That seats taken." he said while his eyes dared her to contradict him.

"Sorry, I'll sit somewhere else then" said Ari emotionlessly.

"A-chan, you can sit next to me!" said Ichijo, trying to break the sudden tension. He pat the chair next to him as he smiled reassuringly towards her.

"Arigato" said Ari as she walked over and took a seat in the chair he had offered. After she sat in the chair conversation resumed and Ari felt it was safe to look around without meeting the hostile stares from her classmates. When she looked around the room she accidently met her brother's eyes which were full of guilt for not speaking up for her against Aido. Ari looked away quickly, not wanting to see the pity in them and still angry that he had brought her to this place.

'He had to have known that this would happen.' thought Ari, slightly angry with her brother for bringing this torment upon her.

Dinner was an awkward affair for Ari since she wasn't used to being forced to talk to others. Ichijo was the only one who talked to her since Shiki-nii was at the other end of the table. Ichijo never gave up on trying to coax her to speak freely with him though. He accepted her short answers without any sign of impatience for her lack of skills in conversing with others. By the time dinner was over (no oatmeal cookies for dessert. Unfortunately, it was some kind of overly sweet chocolate and coconut cake that she could only take a bite from before putting her fork back down in disgust.) Ichijo had managed to get her to speak a few full sentences and ask a few questions about him in return.

"I'll see you tomorrow Ari." said Ichijo while wearing his usual kind smile before he turned around and went up the stairs to his room.

"Hai" said Ari as she turned around to start looking for the library. She felt like reading something to help calm her nerves after such a stressful day.

"Awful friendly with him aren't you" asked a voice nastily from behind Ari. She turned around quickly and spotted Aido coming out of the dining room. While Ari had been saying goodbye to Ichijo everyone had gone back to their rooms or to another part of the dorm, leaving her alone with Aido.

"You think you're so much better than everyone else here, don't you? Refusing to speak to all of us like we're not worth the time it takes to form a single sentence, not showing your emotions like your some kind of crusty old statue." said Aido viciously, making Ari want to back up a few paces and get away from him.

"Iie, I…" Ari said emotionlessly, helpless and unable to stop his onslaught.

"Don't interrupt me!" snarled Aido, his eyes glowing crimson and fangs starting to show. "You don't even show proper respect for Kaname-sama! You haven't gone to give him your allegiance or respect since you've gotten here either!" he said nearly yelling at this point while Ari stood by helplessly.

"Even now you're not showing any kind of fucking emotion! What the hell are you, a robot?" he asked angrily while pulling at his hair in frustration.

"Are you done yet?" Ari asked coolly, while struggling to keep her emotions under control and the uncaring façade in place.

"You b..." Aido began to say but was cut off by a voice from the top of the stairs

"Aido, that's enough" said an imperious voice. Aido whipped his head around and stared at the voice coming from the top of the stairs.

"Kaname-sama! I can explain…" he said with fear evident in his eyes as he saw who had spoken.

"Ari, go to your room and stay there until I come for you." Kaname ordered.

"Hai, Kaname-sama." Ari said and walked past Aido without looking at him, not wanting to see the anger that was surely on his face. It was as she was walking up the stairs that she noticed how cold the room had gotten while Aido had been yelling at her; cold enough that ice crystals had formed on the chandelier and staircase railing. 'His power must be ice' thought Ari, filing the information away for later for future reference.

'So much for finding a book to read in the library.' thought Ari sadly when she had reached her room and had the door closed securely behind her. 'I've had such a horrible day and now I can't even get a new book to read. I guess I can re-read one of my old books.' She thought while looking at the shelves that housed her favorite books and authors. After a minute of searching she found the book she was looking for, Brightly Burning by Mercedes Lackey. Brightly Burning never failed to make her feel less alone. She was able to relate to the boy in the book and the problems he faced because of his powers. She settled down in a comfortable chair to wait for Kaname while reading her book. It seemed like little time had passed before Kaname knocked on her door. Checking the time she realized that almost an hour had passed since Kaname had ordered her to stay in her room.

"Come in." Ari called quietly, knowing that Kaname would be able to hear her even through the solid oak door. Kaname opened her door and walked in sitting on the armrest of the chair she was currently slouching in.

"Are you all right, Ari?" asked Kaname as he placed his hand on the top of her head in a brotherly fashion.

"…."

"Ari, answer me."

"I'm fine, Kaname-sama." said Ari reluctantly, clearly lying.

"Don't lie to me, Ari. It's rude."

"Then no, I'm not fine. Shiki-nii knew that this was going to happen when he brought me here!" said Ari, her frustration finally getting the better of her, causing her façade to start to crack.

"Calm yourself, you don't want your powers to get out of your control." ordered Kaname.

'You're the one who forced me to tell you in the first place!' thought Ari as her frustration grew further, but outwardly her façade remained the same as always. Only if you looked into her eyes would you be able to see her true emotions.

"Shiki isn't the one who wanted you to come here Ari, I was." said Kaname suddenly causing Ari's eyes to widen in shock as she brought her head up abruptly to look at him.

"Why would you do that Kaname-sama?" asked Ari, hurt by his indifference to her pain and suffering at the hands of his subordinates.

"You need to know what it's like outside of the house you grew up in and you weren't going to take the initiative to find out on your own, so I took matters into my own hands. I also wanted to see how much stress you could handle before you lost control of your emotions in a place where I could contain you if necessary." he coldly without a hint of guilt or any emotion whatsoever on his face.

Shocked and unable to comprehend what she had just been told Ari sat there in silence fighting to keep her crumbling façade in place.

'Shiki-nii wasn't the one who wanted to bring me here, Kaname-sama was.' she thought, her mind rejecting the rest of the information that Kaname had just told her. She didn't want to believe that Kaname was using her like some kind of lab rat. Trying to figure out how much pressure she could withstand before breaking.

"Goodnight Ari. I will see you in the morning." Kaname said stoically as he got up and left her room, closing the door quietly behind him.

'Did _he_ ask the Night Class to be so cruel to me? If he did then why is Ichijo-san being so kind to me? Did Kaname-sama ask Ichijo-san to act kind and gain my trust just so he could betray me later? Does Shiki-nii know about this!? Is it all just some kind of plan to get me to lose control of my emotions and powers?' Ari thought, unable to stop the flow of questions from going through her head.

'I won't fall for it!' Ari thought with sudden determination as she grabbed her book and settled back down into her chair. 'Let them try, I _won't_ break… I hope…'

End Note: Ooohhh… plot twist! I'll give virtual oatmeal raison cookies to everyone who reviews! Mmmm… oatmeal raison cookies (author drooling) I haven't had one of those in a week!


	5. The first day of classes

MoonBaby2010: Thanks for the review and here is your virtual oatmeal raison cookie (hands…emails…sticks hand through computer screen… sigh, I don't know how to give it to you. I'll work on it XD). Hopefully in this chapter your anger with Kaname will be resolved. Thanks for the review!

Author's Note: I have just found out that sugar stimulates my creative abilities. So from now on I'm going to eat sugar before I write…. just kidding. If I did this story would become completely random.

imouto- little sister

daijoubu- Are you all right?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Vampire Knight. If I did chocolate would grow on trees. (I couldn't think of anything else right now because I really want to eat the Hersey kiss in front of me, but I'm going to wait until I finish this chapter. It's going to be my reward for getting this chapter written. XD)

**Unlocking the Gates:**

The first day of classes

When Ari woke up the next night she reveled in the warmth of her blankets, not wanting to get out of bed. She had the nagging feeling that she was forgetting something important but knew it was something she didn't want to remember. Laying there she let her memories slowly come back to her from the night before.

_Flashback_

"_Shiki isn't the one who wanted you to come here Ari, I was." said Kaname suddenly causing Ari's eyes to widen in shock as she brought her head up abruptly to look at him. _

"_Why would you do that Kaname-sama?" asked Ari, hurt by his indifference to her pain and suffering at the hands of his subordinates. _

"_You need to know what it's like outside of the house you grew up in and you weren't going to take the initiative to find out on your own, so I took matters into my own hands. I also wanted to see how much stress you could handle before you lost control of your emotions in a place where I could contain you if necessary." he coldly without a hint of guilt or any emotion whatsoever on his face. _

_End Flashback_

Ari laid there as she remembered and couldn't help the feelings of despair and helplessness wash over her, unable to control them.

'There's nothing I can do. I can't go against Kaname-sama. If I did the vampire council would kill me and possibly my family. I need to think of a way to thwart Kaname-sama without actually rebelling against him.' she thought as her feelings turned to determination. She felt like a bug caught in the web of a _very_ powerful spider.

'Webs always have holes in them, if I can just get away before the spider wraps me in his cocoon and sucks the life out of me then maybe I can escape. Running away from Cross Academy won't work; he'll find me and all of my chances for escape will have been ruined. Think Ari _think_, there has to be some way out of this.' she thought to herself, concentrating so deeply that she didn't hear the knocking on her door. She was brought out of her thinking when a hand shook her shoulder urgently.

"Ari-chan… Ari-chan, daijoubu?" asked a voice near her head startling her out of her reverie. She wasn't used to being touched by others. Looking over she spotted Ichijo-san.

"What are you doing in here?" Ari asked, momentarily forgetting about the conversation with Kaname-sama the night before.

"I knocked on your door and no one answered. I was worried that someone might have done something to you last night…" his voice fading as he looked away, remembering that one of his fellow classmates had tried to harm her the night before.

"Then you know what happened last night." Ari said coldly as her surprise at seeing Ichijo-san in her room faded and she recalled the night before.

Ichijo's eyes widened as he detected the hostility in her voice. He was surprised that she even let that much emotion slip, she must have been very angry about what had happened last night but he was confused as to why she would be angry with him though.

"Hai… Kaname-sama punished Aido for it last night. Ari-chan, did I do something to make you angry?" he asked worriedly while looking at her with his big, green, guileless eyes. She wanted to believe that he would never do something like that, but she'd been betrayed by others who looked just as innocent as or even more so than him.

"Is it time for classes?" asked Ari trying to avoid the question. She wasn't sure who she could trust anymore, not even her brother. If she couldn't trust her own family, then who could she trust?

'I need to talk to Shiki-nii and find out if he's helping Kaname-sama. He was never able to successfully lie to me so I should be able to get the truth from him, whether he realizes it or not. I'll do it after class today.' she decided.

"We leave for class in thirty minutes before." said Ichijo, hurt evident in his voice. Ari was unable to stop herself from looking up at him when she heard his pain. What she was met with were his beautiful kind green eyes transformed into sad lonely ones. Ari held back a gasp at seeing his eyes full of such loneliness and pain. He was letting her see something inside himself that he didn't show many other people.

'His eyes… are like mine.' thought Ari in surprise.

'Could he really fake that kind of pain and loneliness?' she asked herself as he turned and left her room. She wanted to reach out and stop him but she hesitated, afraid to reach out and be betrayed once again, causing her to lose her chance to stop him. Sighing she got out of bed and grabbed her night class uniform putting it on quickly. After she had her uniform on she went over to her vanity and grabbed a hairbrush running it through her long black hair quickly. She then went into her bathroom to take care of all the morning necessities. Once she was out of the bathroom she grabbed a blood tablet and quickly swallowed it to satiate her need for blood as she left her room.

She met almost everyone at the base of the stairs, the only one missing being Aido.

'Why am I not surprised that he's the one to take the longest to get ready in the evening?' she asked herself. Once Aido had finally arrived they all turned towards the door following Kaname-sama towards the Moon Dorm gates.

"Ari-chan, I just want to warn you that the day class girls can be very… enthusiastic." said Shiki who had moved beside her as they had headed towards the gates of the moon dorm.

"I figured that out the other night when I caught the day class girls trying to get pictures of the night class." said Ari monotonously, careful to keep her eyes blank, causing Shiki to give her a weird look. She usually let him know how she felt through her eyes. "What's wrong, imouto?" he asked worriedly. "Are you upset about last night? I'm sorry that I didn't do anything, I shouldn't have let Aido treat you that way at dinner."

"It's not about that…" Ari began to say but was cut off by the screaming that started once the moon dorm gates were opened. What met her eyes is a sight that she wished she would never have to see again. It was a sea of girls all screaming in the direction of the night class. She debated on going back to the dorm but that would only give the night class members something else to ridicule her with. She decided to press onward towards the mass of hormonal teenage girls that the prefect, Yuuki, was unsuccessfully trying to hold back. Some of her panic must have shown in her eyes, though, because Ichijo came over to her immediately after the gates opened. She really didn't want to have to deal with Ichijo trying to comfort her, especially when she wasn't sure she trusted him. She looked over to the spot her brother had been standing when the gates had opened planning to use him as a distraction, only to find it empty. Looking around she spotted him behind her with Rima, whispering in his ear.

"Are you all right Ari-chan?" Ichijo asked with concern. "It must be hard to be around so many people, especially ones that are so loud."

"I'm fine" she said, trying to keep her voice emotionless. It was proving to be difficult with all of the noise around her. She was used to the relative silence in both her room at Cross Academy and at home.

"You can hold my hand if you want to" said Ichijo. Unfortunately he picked one of those magical times when everything becomes silent for a split second to say that. When he did everyone turned to stare at them, the night class in disbelief and the day class girls in pure hatred. Whispers broke out amongst the day class students. Kaname-sama had ignored the entire thing and kept heading towards the building classes were held in with the night class still following.

Classes that night weren't as exciting as she had thought they would be. It was downright boring in fact and it seemed like no one was paying attention to the teachers. One teacher that did catch her attention was Yagari-sensei, he smelled of old blood. During his class Ichijo-san, who had decided to sit next to her during class, had leaned over and told her that Yagari-sensei is a vampire hunter. He had been assigned here to watch over the night class to make sure that they followed the rules and didn't harm any day class students. After class Yagari-sensei motioned for her to stay in the class, indicating that he would like to talk to her. After the night class had left Ari walked down to his desk and waited for him to tell her what he wanted to say.

"I suggest you follow the rules, vampire. If you don't I won't hesitate to kill you." he said in a voice she supposed he thought was menacing. Ari on the other hand had to hold back the laughter that threatened to spill out and succeeded in keeping her face emotionless. Unfortunately he saw it her laughter in her eyes.

"You think I'm joking vampire?" he asked now angry.

"No"

"Then why are you laughing?" he asked with a snarl. Did he honestly think that after all she had been through one measly threat would scare her?

"Threats aren't necessary, vampire hunter. I don't plan on breaking any of the rules."

"That's a shame because that means that I won't get to blow a hole through your evil, disgusting heart." he said as he reached underneath his desk to pull out, what Ari supposed, was an anti-vampire weapon. Deciding that it was probably a good idea to leave before she got him really angry, she turned around and did just that. She wasn't afraid of his threats, but she was afraid of _him_. She'd experienced too many threats for them to have any kind of an effect on her anymore. Sticking around to see what he did was not an option since she did _not_ want to risk getting killed or injured by an anti-vampire weapon, the things hurt like hell when you were hit with them.

Sighing with relief once she was outside she headed back to the Moon Dorm. Her relief was short lived though since she still had to talk to her brother about Kaname-sama. She needed to know whether or not he was a part of Kaname's plan. Getting back to the dorms without incident she immediately went to her brothers' room and knocked on his door. Expecting her brother to answer it she was surprised to see Ichijo.

"Ari-chan! Do you need something?" he asked surprised at her sudden appearance.

"I need to talk to my brother… alone." said Ari emotionlessly.

"Okay, he's in the bathroom right now changing. He should be out soon." said Ichijo while smiling cheerily. "I'll go down to the library and give the both of you some time together. Take as long as you need!"

Ari nodded in thanks and walked into the room past Ichijo. He walked out the door and closed it gently behind him. Ari settled down on the bed that smelled like her brother. A couple of minutes later Shiki walked out of the bathroom in his regular clothes.

"Ari-chan, what are you doing here?" he asked in surprise.

"Why am I at Cross Academy?"

"… I wanted you to have friends. You had to leave the house some day and I wanted to be there to support you when you did. I haven't been doing a very good job of it though." he said ruefully. "Do you forgive me?"

Ari had been staring him straight in the eyes the entire time and was relieved to realize he wasn't lying. She was convinced that he had not brought her here to purposely hurt her. Now she just had to ask the big question and see if he had unknowingly thrown her into Kaname's trap.

"Did Kaname-sama ask you to bring me here?" asked Ari.

"No. He was against the idea at first, but then changed his mind a week after I asked to bring you here."

"What?" Ari said flatly startling her brother.

"Why are you asking me these questions, Ari-chan? Did something happen? If it's about Ichijo always being around you it's because I asked him to keep an eye on you. He's taken it a bit farther than I asked him to though. I didn't expect him to spend so much time around you really. All I asked was for him to tell me if anyone was being mean to you, I didn't expect him to actually like you. Not that people don't like you it's just that you scare most people and I wouldn't have been surprised if Ichijo was scared of you since he's always happy and your usually gloomy."

"Nii-san stop, you're rambling." said Ari with happiness shining in her eyes. Shiki-nii hadn't been forced to bring me and he didn't bring me here to hurt me. Kaname-sama had _lied_! Ichijo-san wasn't deceiving her either; Shiki-nii had asked him to watch over her! 'Could it be that Kaname-sama was testing me, seeing if my barriers could withstand being betrayed by my friends and family?' she asked herself

"Arigato, nii-san. I've got to go now." said Ari getting up and walking quickly out the door as she contemplated where Kaname-sama could be. She needed to show him that she knew all about his little trick. It was mean, she acknowledged, but she thought that she might know why he did it. Searching through the dorm she finally found him in his room.

'Why didn't I check here first?' she asked herself.

"Kaname-sama" said Ari bowing respectfully towards him.

"Ari, how nice to see you, do you need something?" asked Kaname, carefully keeping his face emotionless. Ari was one of the few people who could read him if he wasn't careful.

"I just spoke with Shiki-nii" Ari said emotionlessly.

"And how did it go?"

"It was spectacular."

"Then you know?"

"Hai"

"I guess I should explain to you why I said what I did." said Kaname, a hint of pride in his eyes. He was glad that she was able to withstand his cruelty. It meant that she was strong enough to be trusted to keep her emotions in check around others.

"I think that an explanation is in order." said Ari while looking him straight in the eyes. At this point she didn't care if he took offense or not.

"I wanted to see whether you could withstand the cruelty of the world without losing control of your emotions. What better way than to make you believe that everyone you trusted had betrayed you?"

"What would you have done if I had lost control?" asked Ari emotionlessly but still curious to know why.

"I would have sent you back to your house and forbidden you from leaving it. I couldn't let you wonder around freely if you weren't able to control your emotions." he said.

'You're an asshole, but I'm glad you did this. Now I _know_ that I can control my emotions no matter what happens.' Ari thought.

"You should get some sleep, you've had a long day." said Kaname. Nodding her head Ari got up to leave, but paused when she heard him whisper something quietly as she opened the door. Without turning back she walked to her room, fighting to keep a smile off her face. He had said "Well done, my little star". He had used the nickname that he had given to her while teaching her to keep her emotions buried.

End Note: Whew (wipes sweat off of forehead, shakes cramps out of fingers and eats the evil Hershey kiss that has been taunting me the entire time), that was over a thousand words longer than my last chapter! I'm thinking that I might do a time skip in the next chapter, I feel like the story is moving too slowly. I also put a little foreshadowing at the end of this chapter, muahahaha. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review on your way out! Oh and never mistake flour for powdered sugar… I did that a couple days ago and it was HORRIBLE. I am officially scarred for life because of that experience.


	6. First Friend

A/N: I always get these really awesome ideas for this story right as I fall asleep at night and when I'm just waking up in the morning. Unfortunately, I'm always to out of it to remember them (I'm not a morning person. My friends are scared to talk to me when I wake up because all I can do is glare.) I get so frustrated with myself when I can't remember the ideas.

YOSH! The fluffiness is finally here! (well, at least a little bit)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Vampire Knight…. I can't think of anything else to say. I need some help thinking of an idea for the disclaimer. Anyone have any ideas?

MoonBaby2010: I'm glad that you were able to stop slapping poor Kaname for his mean trick. It would have been funny to see his face if she called him out on it, but that would make my OC OOC. Hahahahaha (The oc ooc looks funny… I'm such a nerd).

I'm doing a time skip so this is about 2 weeks after Ari finds out that Kaname was testing her ability to control her emotions.

**Unlocking the Gates:**

First Friend

Ari was at peace lying beneath the apple tree. She had been there for quite a while now, just watching the stars. The leaves crunched beneath her as she shifted her weight, trying to get more comfortable. She loved fall, it was her favorite season. The air becomes chilly and the leaves turned beautiful colors before slowly spiraling down to earth. Ari thought of fall as nature's naptime. It deserved a rest after all of the beauty it had produced in the spring and summer. Ari thought of Fall and winter as nighttime, while spring and summer represented daytime. She didn't know if any of the vampires at Cross Academy liked fall or winter. She assumed Aido liked winter though. One vampire's favorite season that she did know was Ichijo. He preferred spring and summer. Ari hadn't been surprised when he told her this, she had expected it really. Ichijo was all sunny smiles and blooming happiness every day, at least that's the way he acted. She had the feeling that he was hiding something from her though.

Ichijo and Ari had become what Ichijo called "friends". Ari had never had a friend before and it was a completely new experience for her. Ichijo had been understanding of her wariness and took things slowly, answering all the questions she had about what being a friend entailed before she agreed. He had even dropped the chan off her name when she asked him to. Instead he just called her Ari now, which she preferred over Ari-chan. Consequently, they had started spending more time together.

The other night class members had not been happy about the amount of time she spent with Ichijo every day. Ari had thought that Kaname might have asked them to be mean to her in order to make his test more challenging, but she was wrong. The next day when she got up they were as cold as ever, if not more so. It seemed that someone had been in the hallway when she'd left Kaname's room and had heard about the pet name he used with her. Whoever it was had been angry by her familiarity and had told everyone about it. She had narrowed down the list of suspects down to either Ruka or Aido who had told everyone. The both of them had tried to make her life hell afterwards, usually when no one else was around. Ichijo had somehow found out about how she was being treated a few days ago. Since then he'd hardly left Ari's side, afraid that they would corner her and attack her. Today was the first day that she had been able to sneak out without Ichijo noticing and coming along with her. Ari enjoyed his company but she was used to solitude and used it to reinforce the barriers holding back her emotions.

Ichijo's friendship was interesting. He didn't mind answering most of her questions, the only time he avoided a question was if it was about his family. If she did ask a question about his family he would abruptly change the subject. Ari knew that there was something about his family that he didn't want to talk about but respected his space, there were things that she wouldn't talk to him about either.

"Ari…Ari!" she heard a voice yelling in the distance, gradually getting louder as it came closer to where she was lying.

'Ichijo' she thought with a mental sigh. She had known that her beloved solitude wouldn't last long. Ari didn't know whether to ask him to give her space or if she should just let it go. She wasn't confident in her knowledge of the rules of friendship yet and didn't want to offend her first and only friend. Especially with something as trivial as her need for solitude and space.

"Ari, there you are! I was worried when I couldn't find you in your room or anywhere in the Moon Dorm. Why did you leave without telling me? You could have been hurt!" Ichijo said with worriedly, looking down at her while she lay in the leaves looking up at him expressionlessly.

"Sorry." said Ari shortly; not wanting to talk about why she hadn't told him where she was going.

"Ari, you've been avoiding me haven't you?" asked Ichijo, his eyes hurt.

"…sorry." said Ari, feeling bad for hurting his feelings. She had forgotten how perceptive he was, especially when it came to her.

"Have I done something to make you angry? If I have please tell me, I won't be offended. I just want you to be happy." said Ichijo as he lay down in the leaves close to her. He rolled over on his side to look at her, waiting for an explanation.

Ari was hesitant to tell him, but decided that it was better not to worry him.

"I'm not used to having someone always around me, Ichijo. I like solitude and being outside by myself at night. It's peaceful and helps me calm myself." Ari refused to look at him as she said this, afraid to see anger in his eyes.

"Ari… Ari look at me." Ichijo commanded when she refused to meet his eyes. Reaching out he placed his hand on her cheek and slowly turned her head towards him, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Did you think that I would be angry with you for telling me the truth?"

Ari stared at him in silent acknowledgement. Ichijo let out a low chuckle. It amazed him that she was so insecure about their friendship.

"I'm not angry Ari. I was just worried that someone would hurt you if I let you out of my sight. If you need some space you can just tell me." whispered Ichijo with a small smile on his face, his warm hand still on her cheek.

"You shouldn't worry about someone hurting _me_ Ichijo; you should be worried about who attacked me. I can handle myself in a fight, trust me." said Ari seriously, while looking into his eyes to make sure that he believed her. The look in her eyes, one of pain and regret, told Ichijo that she was speaking from experience. Ichijo nodded his head in understanding.

"I won't worry about them attacking you physically anymore Ari, but I'm still worried about verbal attacks. I don't like how they try to make you feel insecure about yourself. Maybe I should try to talk to them..."

"Don't… it'll only cause them to become angrier if you defend me." said Ari as she cut him off before he decided to do something that would make the situation worse. It would only cause the night class students to increase their verbal attacks on her if he defended her. Deciding it was time to change the subject Ari asked him how his day had been.

"It was fine. I had to stop Aido from eating your brothers' pocky again. I don't know what Shiki would have done to him this time." said Ichijo while shaking his head at Aido's foolishness. Ari suppressed a chuckle at the mental image she had of her brother chasing Aido around the Moon Dorm. She turned her head to look at Ichijo so that he could see the laughter in his eyes, even if she wouldn't let it physically show.

"Ari" said Ichijo with a hint of embarrassment in his voice as he started squirming around a bit causing the leaves to crackle. "WouldyoucallmeTakuma?"

Ari looked at him in confusion.

"Huh?" was the intelligent answer that came out of her mouth.

"Ano… would you call me Takuma, instead of Ichijo since we're friends?" asked Ichijo with a pink blush spreading across his cheeks.

"You want me to?" asked Ari in astonishment. No one had ever wanted her to call them by their first name before.

"Yeah" said Ichijo quietly, looking away from her and up at the stars.

"Sure, as long as you don't mind" said Ari.

'What is this feeling' she asked herself. 'My heart feels so happy that he wants me to call him by his first name, but I don't know why.'

"Of course I don't mind!" exclaimed Ichijo, startling Ari out of her thoughts.

"All right, Takuma." said Ari. She looked down with a smile spreading across her face.

'Smiling… shit! What's happening? Why am I smiling?' thought Ari in sudden panic. 'I didn't even realize that I was smiling!'

"Ari, are you all right?" asked Ichijo as he noticed the sudden tension in her body. "Did I say something to make you upset?"

"Iie." said Ari as she once again got herself under control.

'Nothing happened when I smiled. Takuma is fine, I'm fine, and nothing is dead.' she thought as she subtly took a look around herself, finding nothing out of the ordinary.

'That was close. I'll have to watch myself around Takuma from now on. Why did this happen? I can't tell Kaname about this, if I do he'll send me home and forbid from ever leaving. I don't want to leave Cross Academy anymore and I think I know why.' she thought as she looked at Takuma who was watching the stars. He was the reason that she no longer wanted to leave Cross Academy.

Her body gave a sudden shiver as she became aware of how cold she had become while laying on the ground. Takuma noticed and suggested that they head back to the Moon Dorms. Ari nodded in agreement and they headed back to the Moon Dorms together in a comfortable silence.

"If you ever want to have some alone time don't be afraid to tell me." said Ichijo when they got back to the dorm. Ari recalled his words from before, remembering that he had told her that he just wanted her to be happy.

"I will." said Ari

"Goodnight Ari" said Takuma as they separated to go back to their rooms.

"Goodnight Takuma" said Ari. And with that she turned around and walked back to her room.

End Note: I think in the next chapter I'm going to do something in Ichijo's POV. I want the readers to know what he's thinking about, especially after this chapter.

Gah! I overslept by 3 hours this morning and missed 2 classes!


	7. Ichijo's Birthday Party

A/N: Yosh! I finally have time to write again. It seems like it's been forever since I was able to. (I had a lab practical this week that I had to seriously study for.)

In this chapter I'm going to give everyone an insight into what Ichijo really thinks about Ari! Yay!

Dashed lines indicate a change in POV between Ichijo and Arianna.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vampire Knight in any way shape or form…yet. I plan to after I take over the world. (It's a three step plan)

**Unlocking the Gates:**

Ichijo's Birthday party

'What should I get Takuma for his birthday?' wondered Ari as she sat at her desk. She had been browsing the internet for hours now trying to find the perfect gift for Takuma. She had no idea what she wanted to get him, but she knew she wanted it to be special.

'His party is _tonight_,' she thought with an internal groan of dismay. She had known about his party for two weeks already but hadn't been able to find a suitable present for him yet. Takuma had told Ari that his birthday was in two weeks the night after he had agreed to give her some time to herself. Since that night Ari had been looking for the perfect present for him incessantly.

Ari had been sure to keep her emotions under strict control while she was around him. She hadn't lost control since then either and was starting to wonder if it had just been a fluke. Maybe it had just been because of her lack of peace since she got to Cross Academy.

'I want to get him something that he'll really enjoy. The problem is that he probably has everything that he could ever want.'

Ari sighed dejectedly as she closed the browser and twirled around in her computer chair. Unfortunately, spinning around in her chair didn't help her come up with any ideas for Takuma's present. It did succeed in making her nauseous though. Ari stopped twirling in her chair before she made herself throw up. Putting her head in her hands she sighed again then rolled back to her desk.

'Let's see… I need to get a present for Takuma and suitable clothing for his party without being sabotaged by the Night Class. So far I have done… nothing on my list.' Feeling overwhelmed Ari started banging her head on her desk hoping that it would stimulate her creativity.

"Ano… are you all right?" asked a voice from her doorway, startling Ari enough that she stopped banging her head on her desk. Ari turned around and stared. Standing in her doorway were Rima and Seiran.

"What are you doing here?" asked Ari emotionlessly, careful to keep her face neutral and free of the embarrassment she felt at being caught.

'I can't believe they saw me doing that!' she thought to herself in inner embarrassment.

"I figured you were having trouble coming up with a present to give Ichijo and I noticed that you haven't gotten a dress yet," said Rima while nibbling on a stick of strawberry pocky.

"Hai," said Ari hesitantly, unsure if this was a trick or not.

"Would you like to come with Seiran and I to town? We're going to get Ichijo a birthday present and you can pick out a dress while we're there. It can be a girl's day out!" said Rima excitedly, shocking Ari and making her wary of tricks. Rima was usually only excited around Shiki and that's only when both of them had eaten a large amount of pocky.

"Why are you being kind to me?" asked Ari impassively. It was bad enough that she didn't have a present for Takuma, she didn't need to be tricked on top of that.

"Shiki has been upset about your lack of friends. I don't like seeing Shiki upset and you've never done anything to me so I decided that I should give you a chance," said Rima coolly. Ari then turned to Seiran, curious why she was there.

"Kaname-sama also seems to be upset by your lack of female friends. I merely want to ease Kaname-sama's burden by giving at least a semblance of friendship," said Seiran neutrally causing Rima to sweat drop.

"I see," said Ari.

It made her feel better to know that they were doing this for a reason. If they had suddenly decided to become her friend she would have declined their offer. Ari had learned not to trust people who didn't have an ulterior motive, the only exception being Takuma. He was the only one who had managed to gain her trust and friendship by being himself. Takuma was real and didn't try to hide who he really was. Ari doubted he could even if he tried.

"I'll come," said Ari shortly. She had no idea what to wear to Takuma's party and was glad that she would have Rima to help her pick out an outfit.

"We should get going soon if we want to get back in time for his party," said Rima and Seiran nodded in agreement.

"Hai," said Ari. She got up and grabbed what she would need for her trip into town and wrote a quick note for Takuma saying that she would be back before his party started. Once she was ready she followed Rima and Seiran out of the Moon Dorms and into a limo that was waiting to take them to town.

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Looking down at his watch Takuma realized that it was almost time for his party to begin. He had been looking for Ari around the Moon Dorm and had yet to find her.

'It's almost time for the party. Ari said she would be back by the time it started,' he thought worriedly as he began imagining all of the terrible things that could have happened to her while in town. Visions of rapists and axe murderers floated through his head causing him to shudder.

"Takuma," said a stoic voice to his right. Turning he found Kaname standing next to him.

"She'll be here soon. Seiran called me and said they were running late. It took them longer than expected to pick out a dress for Ari. They're going to meet us at the party instead," said Kaname trying to subtly reassure Takuma.

"Oh… that's a relief. I guess I should get going then," said Takuma while smiling at Kaname in relief.

"It wouldn't do to keep your guests waiting," said Kaname, tilting his head in the direction the party was being held.

"Hai Kaname," said Takuma. He turned around and headed in the direction of his party. As he walked he couldn't help but wonder what kind of dress Ari had gotten for his party. Suddenly a mental image of Ari smiling while running around in a pure white summer dress popped into his mind, causing Takuma to freeze mid-step.

'What am I THINKING? Where in the world did that image come from? I haven't even seen her smile,' thought Takuma in embarrassment while his face flushed a light red when he remembered his vision of Ari in the dress.

'I can't think of those things right now. I have to go greet my guests and be a good host' thought Takuma with resolve as he shook his head to erase the image from his mind. He then straightened his back and walked towards the party to greet his guests.

Coming out into the large backyard of the Moon Dorm he plastered a smile onto his face and started the long process of greeting the partygoers. While he was doing that he couldn't help but look for Ari among the crowd of noble vampire's. While he was looking around he admired the decorations that had been put up. There were lights strung through the trees allowing enough illumination for everyone to see. There was also a table full of presents and another full of food. After about fifteen minutes of greeting guest after guest he finally spotted her. She was standing in the shadow of a tree watching him. Once she caught his eyes she stepped out from beneath the shadow of the tree allowing Takuma to see her. What he saw made his breath hitch in his throat. She looked absolutely beautiful. Takuma slowly took in her appearance making sure that he had every detail. Her hair was down and had braids scattered throughout it with tiny silver chains braided into them. At the end of each braid was a little bell that chimed quietly when it moved in the breeze. Her dress matched the color of her eyes, a deep sapphire blue. It was a relatively simple dress with thin straps over her shoulders. The front of the dress was a V that dipped down enough for him to see the swell of her breasts without being vulgar. Beneath her bust was a black sash that was wound around her torso. Beneath the sash the dress flared out down to her knees. The entire dress looked like it was made of fine silk. She had on a pair of black silk flats with matching ribbons that wound their way up her calves. In her hands she held a wrapped box. Once Takuma had finished his assessment of her he walked towards her with a broad grin on his face.

"Ari, you look fantastic," complimented Takuma when she was within a few feet of him.

"Arigato Takuma. Here's your present. I wanted to give it to you in person," said Ari as she held her present out to him. Takuma looked her in the eyes as she handed him his present, curious as to what she was feeling. What he saw their surprised him, her eyes reflected worry.

"Ari, is everything all right? You look worried," said Takuma while leaning down to be at her eye level.

"I'm just worried that you won't like the present I got for you," said Ari truthfully, looking down at the ground to avoid his perceptive eyes. Most of the time she was glad that he could read her emotions so easily, but this was one time that she wished he couldn't. Takuma reached for the present and carefully took it from her, eager to open it. He slowly took off the paper, savoring the feeling of happiness that came with receiving a gift from someone who actually cared. Almost all of the people here were trying to garner favor from his uncle. So receiving a gift from someone so dear to him was something that he valued. When he had finally taken off all of the wrapping paper and opened the box he felt his grin grow wider if possible. She had gotten him the special edition complete set of Ouran High School Host Club manga.

'How did she know that I haven't read it yet, I'm pretty sure that I haven't told her about it,' thought Takuma with shock and delight.

"Arigato, Ari! It's perfect,' said Takuma enthusiastically causing relief to flood through Ari's eyes.

"You should go visit your guests. I've kept you too long," said Ari, realizing that she was being glared at by the other guests. Takuma nodded and left her reluctantly. He would have rather spent his time with Ari instead of the rest of his guests, not that he would ever let them know that. When he looked back to get one last glimpse of her he saw her melt back into the shadow of the tree becoming almost invisible, even to his enhanced eyes.

The night dragged by slowly. Takuma found his eyes straying towards Ari most of the night, watching her stand in the shadows. His chest tightened any time a male approached her and either tried to talk with her or asked her to dance. The only person she did accept a dance from was her brother Shiki. While they were dancing Takuma was pleasantly surprised to see that Ari was a good dancer. She moved fluidly through the steps without hesitation while her dress spun around her gracefully. He didn't know why he was so drawn to her tonight.

'Maybe it's the dress. She looks so beautiful and graceful in it,' Takuma thought as he shook another nobles hand and murmured generic pleasantries to him. After he thought about all of the time they had spent together he realized that it wasn't just the dress that had drawn him tonight, it was her quiet and kind personality.

'That's it, I can't take it anymore. I have to dance with her. Plus, Ari's probably bored and it's my duty as the host of this party to make sure my guests have a good time,' thought Takuma, succeeding in finding an excuse to dance with Ari.

After extricating himself from the conversation the noble was having he made his way over to where Ari was standing beneath the tree.

"Will you dance with me?" asked Takuma when he reached Ari, bowing low to her with his hand outstretched gallantly.

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"…hai," agreed Ari, surprised that Takuma had asked her. She had expected him to be busy with his guests the rest of the night. Takuma then took her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it while still bowing to her. Ari felt tingles run up her arm at the feeling of his lips on her hand and her face became hot. Takuma straightened up soon afterwards and lead her out onto the dance floor.

'Am I blushing? I can't remember the last time I blushed. Keep control of yourself Ari it's just a dance, not a big deal,' thought Ari as she let Takuma lead her out onto the dance floor.

Once they were among the other couples Takuma gently placed his hand around her waist and took her hand into his. Ari placed her free hand on his shoulder.

"Is this all right?" asked Takuma as he pulled her up against him gently.

"Hai," said Ari as she felt herself flush once again.

"You look a little red, do you have a fever?" asked Takuma worriedly.

"I'm fine," said Ari as she bent her head down to hide her blush.

"Ari, are you blushing?" asked Takuma in surprise. He had caught a glimpse of the embarrassment in her eyes before she looked down.

'Why am I even blushing? I don't understand!' wailed Ari internally as she took deep breaths to get herself under control. She finally felt the heat leave her cheeks and was able to look back up at Takuma. That was a mistake. When she looked up at him she became trapped in his emerald green eyes. He was giving her a radiant smile that made her want to melt. Her eyes were pulled away from his when he spun her around in a circle and then lifted her into the air before pulling her close to him once again. Ari leaned her head on his shoulder in contentment. She felt safe in his arms, which was a new feeling for her. She had never felt safe anywhere but her home, and even at home there had been times when that safety had been taken away. She couldn't help but remember what she had been like when she first came to Shiki's home. She had been a pathetic and wretched thing. Shiki had told her that she had been like a wild animal and attacked anyone that came to close to her.

Suddenly Ari was jostled out of her depressing thoughts by the prefect, Zero, pushing past Takuma and her in an attempt to leave the party. Takuma had instinctively pulled her closer to his body to make sure that she didn't lose her balance.

"I wonder what happened to Zero-kun." Takuma murmured to himself as Zero disappeared into the forest. Ari turned to look in Kaname's direction and saw Yuuki looking worriedly after Zero before turning and apologizing to Kaname, running off into the woods after him.

Realizing that the song was now over and Takuma was still holding her close Ari gently disengaged herself from him causing Takuma to blush.

"Thanks for dancing with me. It's probably the most fun I've had all night," said Takuma with a bright smile on his face.

"Ah," said Ari in acknowledgment, feeling an answering smile trying to force its way to the surface.

'I've spent too much time with him tonight. I need to go somewhere where I can calm myself down,' thought Ari. She really didn't want to leave Takuma but she could hurt him if couldn't keep her emotions under control.

"Ari-san, Kaname-sama would like to see you," said a familiar voice from behind Ari. Turning around Ari saw Seiran behind her.

"OK," said Ari.

"Thanks for dancing with me Takuma, I really enjoyed myself. I think that I'll head back to the dorm after talking to Kaname-sama. Will you show me your presents tomorrow?" asked Ari while keeping her face blank.

"Hai. You can help me un-wrap them tomorrow night," said Takuma with a broad grin on his face.

Ari nodded with a smile glimmering in her eyes before turning around and heading towards Kaname with Seiran.

"You wanted to speak with me Kaname-sama," said Ari when she reached the couch Kaname was lounging on.

"Hai. I've noticed that you've been experiencing some difficulties controlling your emotions around Takuma," stated Kaname while looking her in the eyes, daring her to lie and deny that her control was slipping. Ari froze, afraid that he would force her to go back to her house and leave Takuma.

"Don't worry little star. I have an idea that might let you relieve some of the pent up emotions you're repressing," murmured Kaname, not wanting anyone to hear their conversation.

"There have been several level E's spotted in town and I would like you to eliminate them," said Kaname calmly.

"Hai, Kaname-sama," said Ari while bowing low to him.

'That's perfect! It'll let me release some of these emotions that are plaguing me while I'm around Takuma. I won't have to worry about hurting him if I wear down my powers enough," thought Ari excitedly.

"However, if this fails to help you with your control I will have no choice but to confine you to your home," said Kaname sadly but firmly.

"I understand Kaname-sama," said Ari with inner excitement. It had been a long time since she was allowed to use her powers.

"You may leave now. I suggest that you find somewhere to your emotions before you return to the Moon Dorm," said Kaname with a small smile on his face.

"I will Kaname-sama, arigato," said Ari. She turned around headed out into the forest to prepare herself for the next day's hunt.

End note: I am so excited about writing the next chapter! It's going to be so much fun. R and R pretty please with an Ichijo on top!


	8. Hunting Level E's

A/N: Yay, I can finally type again! Now on to the next chapter, I hope I meet everyone's expectations! I just want to warn everyone that this chapter contains violence and gore. It also contains a little more cursing than my previous chapters.

Thank you to all who reviewed: Mell0, NumbnessForSound, Slomiti Andeo, x-GlitterEyes-x, MoonBaby2010, Toshiroxx, MusicalSoul, and Princesa de la Luna.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Vampire Knight. (Still working on taking over the world, it's taking longer than expected.)

**Unlocking the Gates:**

Hunting Level E's

Ari stared at herself in the mirror assessing the outfit she had chosen to hunt in. She needed to draw attention to herself in order to lure the Level E's out. She figured if she dressed in something that they would find appealing (a.k.a. showing a lot of skin, particularly around her neck) she would have a better chance at finding them or them finding her. She only had the night to hunt them down so she couldn't waste any time. She was willing to do whatever it took to find them quickly.

Ari was wearing a dress that went to her mid-thigh, maybe a little less. The dress was composed of two pieces; a sleeveless sheath like black spandex dress over the top of a deep blue silk dress with short sleeves. Both dresses were the same length. Around her hips the black spandex dress split into triangles allowing the blue silk dress to show through. For shoes she had on black ballet flats and socks that went up to her thighs. The socks ended just before reaching the bottom of her dress. She had her hair up in a pony tail to keep it out of her way when she fought the Level E's.

Looking over her shoulder she saw the black stiletto boots that Rima had given her to wear with the dress. There was no way Ari was going to wear them, if she did she probably wouldn't be able to walk let alone fight.

After glancing at the boots in disgust one last time she grabbed the only thing that she would need for the hunt; an old katana handle wrapped in simple, well-used black leather (A/N: It'll be explained later). She tightened her hair tie to make sure that it wouldn't come lose in the middle of a battle and headed out the door of her room, only to be hit on the nose by Takuma.

"Ari! I'm so sorry, are you all right? I was just going to knock on your door to wish you a good hunt but you opened the door right before I knocked!" said Takuma in a panic, upset that he had accidently hit her.

"It's fine Takuma. It was an accident and it's not like you hurt me," said Ari, rubbing her slightly red nose while trying to see what it looked like. This caused Takuma to start laughing for reasons unknown to Ari.

"What?" asked Ari, confused.

"When you tried to look at your nose you went crossed eyed! That's probably the most facial expression I've ever seen you show," said Takuma still laughing. At this point he was clutching his stomach and with tears running down his face.

"It wasn't that funny!" said Ari. She struggled to keep her face emotionless but could feel a frown trying to express itself on her face.

"Gomen gomen Ari," said Takuma, straightening up and wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Do you need anything else?" asked Ari impassively. Her eyes showed showed that she was fuming inside though. She was angry that he had laughed at her when it was his fault that she went cross-eyed in the first place!

"I'm really sorry I laughed at you Ari. Forgive me?" he asked while holding his hands beneath his chin, giving her his best puppy dog eyes look.

"Fine," Ari sighed. She could never resist him when he looked at her like that.

"Arigato!" said Takuma excitedly, instantly transforming into his normal happy self.

"Why did you come here again?" asked Ari while rubbing her forehead, the only indication that Takuma was starting to get on her nerves.

'I don't know how or why I put up with him. He's always so energetic,' thought Ari to herself.

"I just wanted to tell you to be careful on your hunt tonight. I don't like you going by yourself, it's too dangerous. I tried to get Kaname to let me come with you but he wouldn't let me. He said that you needed to do it by yourself," said Takuma with a frown, his mood changing once again, this time to frustration.

'It seems that Kaname-sama didn't tell him why I was doing this. It's probably for the best that he doesn't know it's because of him, he would be upset with himself,' she thought with an inner smile at how much he worried about her. It was a new experience and one that she cherished.

"I'll be fine. They're just Level E's…" began Ari.

"I know they're just Level E's! But what if there are too many of them and you're injured… or worse," he said while hanging his head and staring at the floor in despair.

"Takuma, I said that I'll be fine. It isn't my first time hunting Level E's," admonished Ari.

"I know, I just don't want you to get hurt," whispered Takuma, his eyes locked on the floor.

It was then that Ari did something that she had never done before, she hugged him. Ari couldn't think of anything else to do and her brother had told her that hugging people was a way to comfort them.

Takuma tensed in surprise when she hugged him but soon relaxed and returned her embrace. Ari was relieved when he returned her hug. She had seen other people giving each other hugs but had never tried it before, it felt oddly comforting and nice. She noticed that Takuma smelled amazing, like sunshine and spring rain. Ari started to snuggle into his shoulder but tensed when she realized what she was doing, and pulled away immediately.

"Ano… do you feel better now?" asked Ari with nervousness evident in her eyes and a light blush on her cheeks.

"H-hai," said Takuma still dazed from the hug and how warm and soft she had been.

"I have to go now. It's almost sundown and the Level E's will start hunting soon," said Ari as she closed her door.

"I'll be waiting for you when you get back. Call me if you need any help, I mean it," said Takuma while looking her straight in the eyes, completely serious.

"Hai" said Ari with a nod before heading down to the living room to meet with Kaname. He had requested that she meet with him before she went on her hunt.

When Ari had reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the living room she saw that Kaname had yet to arrive so she went to the couch to wait for him. She didn't have long to wait though. As soon as she sat down on the couch Kaname mysteriously appeared behind her. Startled, Ari jumped up from her sitting position on the couch and turned to look at him. When she looked into Kaname's eyes she saw open laughter at her expense.

'He did that on purpose,' thought Ari, a vein appearing on her head as she glared at Kaname.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" asked Ari impassively, changing the subject to try to keep Kaname from doing anything else to embarrass her.

"I just wanted to tell you that the Level E's were spotted on the south end of town. It seems that they are working together to capture their prey. They won't fight by the rules and will do their best to subdue and drain you, so be careful," said Kaname gravely.

"Hai Kaname-sama," said Ari.

"You're dismissed. Takuma and I will meet with you in my room when you return," said Kaname.

"Hai," she said once again, bowing and turning to leave the Moon Dorm. Ari was thankful that it was a relatively warm night since she wasn't dressed for cold weather. It was unseasonably warm for fall that night.

Kaname had offered to have a car take her to town but she wanted to walk there, just in case there were any Level E's skulking around Cross Academy. She didn't want any of the day class students to be attacked by them.

Her walk to town was uneventful and gave her ample opportunity to prepare herself for the fight that was going to take place that night. By the time she got to town it was ten p.m. and there were quite a few residents walking around enjoying the rare warm evening. She immediately headed towards the south end of town to see if she would get lucky and find the Level E's immediately; unfortunately luck wasn't with her that night. After two hours of searching she still hadn't found any Level E's. She was also hungry since she had missed both breakfast and lunch due to her searching. She saw a café nearby and bought a sandwich to munch on while she continued her search. After another hour of searching she was starting to become frustrated. The only thing she had found was a normal human mugger attacking a woman. She had immediately put a stop to the mugging by knocking the human unconscious and giving the woman her purse back, urging her to go back home or to the hospital.

At around eleven p.m. she finally smelled what she was looking for, fresh blood. She had smelled it from a few blocks away and immediately went towards the smell. She had found a puddle of blood and the discarded corpse of another woman. Placing her hand on the woman she found that she was still warm, which meant that they had recently fed from her. That meant that the Level E's still had to be close by.

Ari started to walk slowly in dark alleys hoping to attract the attention of the rogue vampires by seeming like drunk, easy prey. After a few minutes of that she finally sensed the approach of a Level E, followed by three more. It seemed that Kaname had underestimated the number of Level E's in town. He had believed that there were only two or three Level E's in town.

Ari felt the Level E's surround her and prepared to avoid any of their attacks. When the first one jumped at her from the top of a building she immediately jumped out of the way and on top of a dumpster, surprising the Level E. The rest of the Level E's came out and surrounded the dumpster while looking at her warily. They had expected her to be a human, not a vampire.

"Vampire," croaked one of the Level E's, a muscular blond man, in an eerie voice. Ari felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise at the sound. Every vampiric instinct she had was telling her to kill the vampires currently surrounding her. Seeing no reason to deny that instinct she crouched down and growled at them, letting her fangs show and eyes glow crimson. The Level E's took a step back, unnerved by the menacing growl that she had let loose. When they stepped back Ari felt her lips stretch into an intimidating smile as she observed the rest of the Level E's surrounding her. There were two females and two males with the blond male leading them. They looked to the blonde male for orders before they attacked her. Deciding that she had terrorized the Level E's enough she reached behind her and grabbed the katana handle. When she pulled it out the Level E's let out grotesque barking laughs at it.

"Do you honestly think that you can kill us with a katana handle? You're outnumbered four to one. We are going to _kill _you, vampire," hissed one of the females before she leapt at Ari with her lips drawn back in a snarl.

Ari dodged the woman but was unable to dodge the second female who had launched herself at Ari immediately after the first woman. Ari and the second woman tumbled off the dumpster and onto the hard muddy ground, rolling around for a dominant position. When they finally stopped rolling around the level E was on top.

"That was easier than I thought it was going to be. You're a weak one aren't you?" asked the woman with a sneer on her face.

"That's what you think," said Ari with an wicked smile on her face as the iris's in her eyes began to deepen in color until they became completely black, blending in with her pupil's. Suddenly the asphalt behind her became completely black and inky black arms that matched the color of her eyes sprung up around Ari and grabbed the vampire on top of her, flinging her into the alley wall.

"You bitch!" shouted the blond male vampire.

"Awww… did I hurt your whore?" asked Ari with a maniacal smirk on her face now as she let her powers, so long subdued, course through her.

"What the hell is that!?" screamed the other male vampire at Ari.

"Shadows," said Ari simply before raising the katana handle still in her hand and focusing her power on it. When she did the shadows from the alley flowed toward the handle and started to swirl around it. When they dissipated the Level E's were able to see that instead of a handle she was now holding a full katana made of a foreign black substance that dully reflected the moonlight.

"There's no way you can defeat me. The entire world is composed of shadow when the sun goes down," Ari said, giving them a sweet smile before suddenly attacking them with her newly formed blade. Ari quickly destroyed the female level E she had thrown against the wall; she wasn't able to fight back and was easy prey. The other female and male Level E's screeched at her and attacked simultaneously, forcing Ari to dodge their attacks.

'I've lost some skill, I should have kept up with my katana lessons once I came to Cross Academy' thought Ari absentmindedly as she dodged another swipe from one of the Level E's. Feeling a burning pain on her back Ari looked behind her and saw that the blonde male was now attacking her also.

'I'm not doing well enough with the katana, time to switch to something else, something a little more deadly,' thought Ari excitedly.

No vampire could resist the smell of blood, even vampiric blood. Ari could feel her control slipping and her blood lust trying to take over her mind. The need to kill everything became almost overwhelming causing her to lose focus as she fought to keep control of her mind. She couldn't lose complete control over herself or she would kill everyone and everything in town, not just the Level E's. Ari was concentrating so hard on keeping her blood lust and powers under control that she forgot to keep her guard up. Suddenly Ari felt something grab her arm and throw her down onto the cold hard asphalt.

'Shit! I lost focus. What happened?' she thought with alarm.

Ari looked up and rolled just before the blonde male brought his clawed hand down in an attempt to decapitate her, leaving a hole in the asphalt instead of her head. Ari kept rolling in an attempt to get away from the blonde male and managed to stand up before the three Level E's could attack again.

Ari drew herself up out of her attack stance and took a deep breath letting her neck relax so that her head hung down on her chest, getting ready to prepare an attack that would hopefully take care of at least two of the Level E's. Once she was ready Ari raised her arm towards the Level E's with her head still down and made a fist. When she did shadows boiled up from the asphalt and surrounded the Level E's. The shadows twined around their legs and torso's, slowly cocooning them until there was no chance for escape.

"What the hell!"

"What's going on!?"

"Let us go you bitch!"

When Ari finally lifted her head towards them they immediately stopped their insults, fear flitting over their features. Her face had become something that would give them nightmares, if they lived through this experience.

Ari was maniacally smiling at them, her eyes wide and completely black. Her fangs were fully extended and her head was lolling loosely on her neck. Her face was covered in black vine-like tattoos that wound around the rest of her body and they were _slithering_ over her skin, like snakes. She started laughing insanely at them as she slowly tightened the shadows that were cocooning them, causing them to scream in terror and pain. The Level E's struggled to get out of the shadows surrounding them, only one succeeded though. The blond male had managed to get out of his cocoon of shadows just before they closed around him completely. It seemed that he was quicker than the rest.

Ari ignored the one who got away; she would deal with him later. She instead concentrated on the ones that were snared in her shadow cocoon. She slowly tightened the shadows surrounding them, relishing in the agonized screams coming from within until she heard the sick crunch of bones and saw blood oozing out from the cracks in the cocoon. When she was sure that both Level E's were dead she let the shadow cocoon go and watched the remains of her opponents ooze down onto the asphalt before turning to dust and blowing away.

Ari turned and looked at the last level E left who had been trying to sneak up behind her and attack while she was destroying his comrades. She saw his eyes widen in fear and smiled evilly at him before flinging out her arm and letting a piece of shadow fly out at him, hitting him in the face.

"Hah, that was a weak attack bitch. Don't tell me that you used up all of your energy killing my companions" said the blonde level E, gaining courage in his belief that she was too weak to kill him now. He reached up to his face to pick off the shadow that had landed on him.

"That what you think," said Ari quietly, smirking to herself as she waited for her attack to take effect.

"Shit!" cursed the male level E suddenly as the shadow started sliding over his face, heading towards his mouth. The shadow quickly slid inside before he could close his mouth causing him to gag and choke.

"What the hell did you do to me?" he screamed at her before he doubled over in pain, clutching his stomach.

"Ahhhhh…" screamed the level E as he slowly slid to the ground in agony. Once he was lying on the ground he curled up into the fetal position, still clutching his stomach. Ari walked over to him and prodded him with the toe of her shoe, waiting for him to die.

"You're taking too long," said Ari coldly before waving her arm above his body, causing him to convulse and scream in agony one last time before exploding from within and sending blood splattering everywhere, including on Ari.

"He ruined my costume," murmured Ari as she looked down at herself in disgust. Ari then turned around as his remains turned to dust. Unfortunately the blood stains just dried up on Ari's dress, ensuring that the blood stain would never come out. She walked out of the alley and jumped up on a roof top. She couldn't walk amongst the humans anymore since she was now covered in dried vampire blood. She was also still too excited from the blood and hadn't gotten her powers back under control.

'Before I calm myself back down I should check and make sure that those were all of the Level E's in town,' thought Ari as she jumped from roof to roof.

After another hour of searching she came upon another level E who was attempting to feed on a human woman. The woman was putting up a pretty good fight, at least until he threw her against a wall knocking her unconscious. Before the level E could bite the woman Ari jumped down from the rooftop, landing silently behind him. Ari coated her hands with the shadows from the alley, drew back her hand and plunged it through his back grabbing his heart and pulling it out, all in one swift movement. It didn't take long for the level E to turn to dust. After throwing down the now shriveled heart she kneeled and checked the woman's pulse before carefully picking her up. The most the woman probably had was a concussion but she still needed to be taken to the hospital. Taking a deep breath Ari fought down the blood lust that had come with killing the Level E's tonight. She did not need to add attacking a human to the list that Kaname had on reasons to force her to leave Cross Academy.

Ari quickly stood up once her blood lust was under control and quickly jumped back onto the roofs, taking the woman to the hospital and dropping her off at the door. She figured that someone would find her quick enough. Ari jumped back onto the roofs and continued her search for Level E's until she had scoured the entire town. Deciding that it was about time to head back Ari turned and headed into the woods to calm down and return to normal before she reached Cross Academy.

After a bit of searching Ari was able to find a glade in the woods. She settled down Indian style on the grass as she meditated, taking deep breaths and centering herself once again. After about a half hour of meditation Ari felt that her emotionless mask was once again back in place, unfortunately she also felt her activities of the night. Her back was burning from the cuts that the level E had given her via his claws and she also had quite a few bruises and minor scratches forming from when the female level E had attacked her. Her entire body ached and she had a headache from letting so much power course through her.

Ari got up with difficulty and craned her neck around to look at the cuts on her back only to wince when she saw how deep and ragged they were.

'It's a good thing that I can't get an infection. That Level E's nails were covered in dirt and who knows what else,' thought Ari with disgust.

She was glad that her body never felt any pain when she used her powers. That side effect was one good thing about using her powers. She let that night's event flow through her mind and winced at how she had acted while under the influence of her powers. Any time she used her powers she turned into a monster that loved to torture and cause pain. That monster lived for the screams of pain and agony emitted by its prey as it died, slowly being swallowed up by the darkness of death in the form of shadows sent by the monster within Ari.

'It could be worse. I could have completely let my powers have full rein over my body. I haven't done that since Kaname-sama taught me how to control my emotions. If he hadn't taught me that then I would have been nothing but a rabid vampire. The council would have sent someone to kill me and I would be dead by now. There's no way that the council would have let me exist, I cause too much destruction when I don't keep myself under control. I only let my powers have half the control over my body this time, I managed to keep the rest under control. If I hadn't then the entire town would have been destroyed,' thought Ari sadly. When she was a child and couldn't control herself she had frequently destroyed anything in her path but could never remember what she had done the next day. When she loses control of her powers her animalistic side takes over and the only thing it cares about is satisfying its blood lust.

Ari sighed as she turned towards Cross Academy. She had to get back and report to Kaname and Takuma before she would be allowed to rest.

'Takuma's going to have a fit when he sees my back,' thought Ari with annoyance as she headed back to Cross Academy and the Moon Dorms to meet with Kaname and Takuma. 'Hopefully I'll make it there before I lose too much blood. That would make Takuma really upset if I passed out on the way back,' she thought resignedly.

A/N: Wow, this chapter was kind of… disturbing. I don't know where it came from. I've never written a fight scene before and I would really appreciate it if you could tell me how it was and if there is anything that I can improve on. I hope everyone is happy with the power I gave Ari. I thought it was suitable. Please tell me whether you like it or not.

The next chapter will be kind of like a part two to this chapter. You'll get to see Ichijo's reaction to Ari's injury. Don't forget that she has to make a full report to Kaname _and_ Ichijo, so Ichijo will hear exactly what Ari did to those vampires. I wonder what he'll think of her after he hears what she did to them (author cackles evilly).

I'm sorry if people thought that it was unsettling reading the fight scenes, I know they were gory but I needed to show everyone what Ari's like when she uses her powers. Remember, she only gave them half of the control over her body, so she could be a lot worse than she was in this chapter. If people don't like the gore I'll tone it down and find another way to express Ari's personality when she uses her powers. Don't worry, there will be a chapter where Ari loses complete control but it won't be until towards the end of this story!

Please Read and Review! (with an Ichijo on top XD).


	9. Returning to Cross Academy

A/N: I can finally update! I wanted to write all week but I had an Anatomy and Physiology test that I HAD to study for. I put it off over the weekend so that I could write the last chapter. So here it is!

Oh yeah, I'm watching Pride and Prejudice with my friends so this is probably going to be all romantic and sappy.

I'm going to pick up from where I left off in the last chapter considering I kind of left you with a little cliffhanger in the end. Hope you like it!

Today's disclaimer is courtesy of inperfection:

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knights; if I did Takuma would never ever wear a shirt!

**Unlocking the Gates:**

Return to Cross Academy

Ari walked slowly through the woods as the sun began to peek over the horizon, sending gentle yellow rays through the otherwise dark forest. She was incapable of running by this point because of her wounds. After leaving the clearing she had started out at a run but had quickly slowed down to a walk, finding herself out of breath and trembling from exertion and unable to keep up the quick pace.

She had been walking through the forest for an hour now. Her back was burning and it felt like someone had taken a hot poker to it. She was beginning to wonder if the bastard who had injured her had put poison on his claws. It wasn't unheard of for a vampire to do so just for the sadistic pleasure of seeing their victims writhing in pain.

Ari took another look around her, promptly realizing the reason why it was taking her so long to get back to Cross Academy. She was lost.

'Great. This is just what I need. I'm tired, in pain and lost. Can my day get any better?' thought Ari sarcastically as she stopped for a brief rest, half expecting it to start raining. Ari closed her eyes and thought back to her night, shuddering slightly when she remembered the mask of agony the blonde Level E's face had become as she destroyed him from the inside out.

Ari leaned forward against a tree and let her forehead rest against the rough bark, bringing her hand up to balance herself. She was starting to feel light headed.

_Flashback_

"_Aaahhhhh…" screamed the level E in agony as he slowly slid to the ground. Once he was lying on the ground he curled up into the fetal position, still clutching his stomach. Ari walked over to him and prodded him with the toe of her shoe, waiting for him to die. _

"_You're taking too long," said Ari coldly before waving her arm above his body, causing him to convulse and scream in agony one last time before exploding from within and sending blood splattering everywhere, including on Ari. _

_End Flashback_

'Stop it Ari,' she thought to herself, gently hitting her head against the bark of the tree, trying to get the images of the massacre out of her head. She felt her hand convulse on the bark of the tree as another wave of pain wracked her body. This wave of pain, unlike the others, was followed by a wave of dizziness. Ari felt herself slowly slide down the tree to crumple in a heap on the ground.

'It probably wasn't a good idea to hit my head against the tree like that,' thought Ari sluggishly.

All the sounds of the forest slowly faded into the background. Her vision became blurred as the ground slowly wavered in and out of focus. Her vision grew darker with each second that ticked by.

'I've overdone it. Takuma's going to be angry with me,' was Ari's last thought before the darkness completely enveloped her vision and her consciousness fled to the darkest reaches of her mind.

Ari groaned as she slowly woke up from a restless sleep. Her dreams had been filled with nightmares of blood splattered everywhere and pain coursing through her body. She slowly opened her eyes squinting as bright sunlight caused her pupils to contract. Feeling a presence to her right she let her head loll to the side. When she saw who it was she felt something akin to happiness flood through her body. Takuma had stayed with her. No one had ever cared enough to stay by her bedside when she was sick or injured, not even her brother. Shiki always had something important to do, usually a modeling shoot, so he had never stayed by her side. She had always woken up alone.

Takuma must have sensed her movement because he abruptly jerked his head up and stared at her blearily in surprise.

"Ari! You're awake," said Takuma with relief once he had processed why he was in her room and remembered that nights events.

"You're not mad at me?" croaked Ari questioningly, staring at Takuma and hoping that he would say no.

"Of course I'm mad at you! I found you in a pool of your own blood!" yelled Takuma in a strangled voice as his mood changed from relief to anger.

"Y-you found me?" asked Ari in shock, letting her emotions show through her voice.

"Yeah," whispered Takuma in a subdued voice as he looked down at the floor desolately.

"You said you would be fine, but you weren't," said Takuma as he looked up at Ari, his eyes wet with unshed tears. Slowly one tear made its way down his face, leaving a wet trail in its wake.

"When I found you I thought you were dead. I was so scared Ari," said Takuma pathetically as more tears made their way down his angelic face.

'He's crying… for me?' thought Ari in disbelief. Ari slowly lifted her hand and gently touched his cheek, wanting to feel the tears herself and make sure she wasn't imagining them. Takuma surprised her by grabbing her hand and holding it tightly to his face.

"Never again… never let yourself be hurt like that again!" ordered Takuma fiercely.

"I'm sorry," said Ari, while looking away from him. She couldn't stand to see him so upset.

"How did you find me?" asked Ari, trying to change the subject.

"I was worried when you didn't come back by sunrise…

_Takuma's super long flashback on how he found Ari and got her back to Cross Academy:_

"Kaname, Ari still isn't back yet and the sun's starting to rise." stated Takuma while gazing out the window, searching for anyone coming through the woods towards the Moon Dorm.

Kaname just sighed and joined Takuma at the window. His brows were furrowed together, the only sign showing he was upset that Ari wasn't back yet.

"Takuma… go look for her. Meet in my room as planned when you get back," ordered Kaname before turning around and heading back to his room.

"Hai Kaname," said Takuma seriously, bowing to Kaname before grabbing his katana and swiftly leaving the moon dorm.

-

Kaname watched Takuma run into the woods from the window. He was worried for both of his friends, though he would never openly show it. There hadn't been a trace of a smile on Takuma's face when he left which attested to how worried he was about Ari. Takuma always managed to have a smile on his face no matter what the circumstance. It seemed that this time the circumstances, since they included Ari, were causing him more worry than what he would normally show. He was becoming too attached to Ari and that made Kaname worried. Ari was dangerous; Takuma just didn't realize how dangerous.

-

Takuma raced through the woods, heading towards town. He was hoping and praying he would find Ari on her way back to the Moon Dorm. She would look at him and tell him that he shouldn't be worried about her and he would laugh, giving her a big hug, relieved that she was all right. Then they would head back to the Moon Dorm together and she would report to Kaname. After that they would both go to bed and have a good night's sleep. Unfortunately his prayers weren't answered.

About ten minutes run from the Moon Dorm Takuma scented the distinct smell of blood. He immediately stopped, frozen with dread as he recognized Ari's scent.

Once he had ascertained the direction it was coming from he raced towards the smell as fast as he could. What he found there made his eyes turn crimson and his fangs lengthen in anger. Ari was lying with her back facing him on the ground in a pool of her own blood. He could see the long gash on her back from where he was standing frozen with fear for his friend. She wasn't moving.

"Ari!" yelled Takuma as he ran towards her, quickly bending down to check that she was still alive. He let out a breath of relief when he saw she was still breathing. Tossing down his katana he quickly pulled off the white jacket of his Cross Academy uniform, tearing it into strips to bind her wound, which was still bleeding sluggishly. She moaned in pain while he quickly wrapped the strips around her torso, causing Takuma to wince. He didn't like hearing the pathetic whimpers coming from her lips. Ari was supposed to be strong. She wasn't supposed to whimper in pain, she was supposed to be emotionless and unaffected by everything around her. Even when Takuma knew she was in pain she never showed any physical sign of it because she was afraid to show weakness to anyone.

Once he had finished wrapping her injury up to the best of his ability he quickly turned her onto her back and picked her up bridal style, careful not to cause her any more pain than she was already in. Straightening up he looked down at her bruised and battered form cradled gently in his arms. She was so slight and looked so fragile lying there in his arms. As soon as he was sure that she was secure in his arms he took off at a sprint which would render him almost invisible to human eyes. He quickly reached the academy and burst through the doors of the Moon Dorm, startling the vampires who were leisurely walking through the hallways. Takuma ran up to Kaname's room and knocked on the door before walking in. He knew it was rude of him to burst in without waiting for Kaname to answer but this was an emergency. Kaname would forgive him this once.

"Kaname, Ari's injured!" said Takuma once he was inside Kaname's room. He kicked the door shut and quickly placed Ari on a couch, making sure that she was on her stomach so as to not cause her any more pain.

"What happened?" questioned Kaname, quickly walking over from behind his desk to look at Ari's injuries.

"I don't know. I found her in the woods in a pool of blood. It looks like one of the Level E's injured her," said Takuma frantically.

Kaname quickly un-wrapped the bandages from Ari's torso so he could see the damage. Once he had the remains of Takuma's jacket un-wrapped he felt his eyebrows rise in surprise. The wound was deep but it should have stopped bleeding by now and started to heal. Ari's wounds looked as fresh as they would if she had been a human. It seemed that there had been some kind of poison in the claws of the vampire who had injured her.

"Why aren't they healing?" asked Takuma frantically.

"Calm down, Takuma. I'll take care of it," said Kaname calmly while gently placing his hands on her injury. Soon a purple light gathered around her injury. The ragged edges of her wound started to pull together and weave once more into a whole as Takuma watched. After a minute the wound was completely healed and covered in flawless skin once again. It was still a little red and swollen looking even with Kaname's assistance.

"Take her back to her room and let her rest. She'll need blood when she wakes up. I'll leave the choice of how she gets it up to you," said Kaname with a knowing look directed at Takuma. Takuma blushed slightly in response.

"Tell her I want a full report tomorrow evening. I also require your presence when she gives her report," said Kaname.

"Hai Kaname," responded Takuma as he gathered Ari up into his arms.

"And Takuma… be careful. You have no idea what she's capable of," warned Kaname causing Takuma to give him a startled look before he left Kaname's room.

Takuma quickly strode to Ari's room and placed her gently on her bed. She looked so vulnerable, covered in blood with her clothes torn to pieces by the ragged claws of the Level E's. Blushing, he quickly removed her outer clothes and picked out a nightgown for her to wear. He quickly dressed her and once she was decent lifted her up and placed her beneath the covers of her large bed.

He had expended a lot of energy running back to Cross Academy and was beginning to feel the night's physical and emotional stress catching up to him. Yawning he dragged a chair over next to Ari's bed. Figuring that it wouldn't hurt to put his head on the bed he laid down his head and took hold of her hand, taking comfort in the feel of his skin against hers. He felt his eyes drift close against his will as he fell into a deep sleep.

_Ari's POV_:

Ari blinked in surprise once Takuma finished telling her what happened after she lost consciousness. She was touched and surprised that he cared so much for her.

"Where's Shiki-nii?" asked Ari blankly, looking around the room and noticing the absence of her brothers red hair.

"Shiki and Rima had to go to a modeling shoot. They left before you did today, that's why you didn't see him before you left," explained Takuma.

"How do you feel?" asked Takuma changing the subject and searching her face for any signs of pain.

"I'm fine," said Ari monotonously.

"No you're not. You're thirsty, aren't you?" said Takuma knowingly, seeing through her lie easily. Then he smiled radiantly at her making Ari instantly suspicious.

'Why is he smiling like that?' she wondered warily.

"…hai" said Ari hesitantly. She had a bad feeling. It felt like Takuma was going to do something stupid.

"Here," said Takuma, holding out his wrist to Ari.

Ari just stared at it.

'He can't possibly want me to drink from him!' she thought to herself in disbelief. She was thirsty, but she thought that he would give her a blood tablet, not offer his own blood.

Sighing at her hesitation Takuma pulled back his hand and quickly made a small cut on his wrist which immediately welled up with blood.

"Drink, this is the quickest way for you to recover. I hate seeing you so helpless," said Takuma as he held his wrist up to her mouth.

Ari's eyes turned crimson and quickly met his before she lunged for his wrist, showing him just how hungry she was. Despite her hunger, though, she was gentle. She didn't want to cause Takuma any unnecessary pain.

As she swallowed Takuma's blood he slowly got up and moved from his chair onto her bed so that he could pull her into a more comfortable position. He settled on placing her with her back to his chest, hugging her close. Takuma felt her immediately relax into him without hesitation as she sucked on his wrist, slowly drinking his blood. He wrapped his arm securely around her waist and nestled his head into her hair, trying to resist the urge to bite her back. Takuma had been worried and forgot to take a blood tablet after she left. He could still smell her blood on him since he hadn't changed his clothes yet. Takuma felt her disengage her fangs from his wrist and lick his wounds to encourage them to close.

Ari snuggled back into Takuma's chest, tired and sated. He was warm and she was still cold from blood loss.

'He's so warm and smells so nice,' thought Ari contentedly.

"Ari," said Takuma quietly, his voice deeper than usual.

"Hmmm…" murmured Ari as she lazily turned in his grasp to face him.

"I'm glad you're all right," said Takuma while hazily gazing into her eyes.

"Are you all right Takuma? Did I take too much blood?" asked Ari.

"I'm fine, just a bit sleepy is all," murmured Takuma as he suddenly listed to the side causing both him and Ari, who was still wrapped in his arms, to fall sideways onto the bed.

'He passed out. I must have taken too much blood,' thought Ari guiltily.

She was still turned slightly in his arms and was able to see his face, relaxed and carefree in his sleep.

'I really like being so close to Takuma. He makes me feel safe,' thought Ari sleepily.

Ari wriggled back around so that her back was to his chest. When she did Takuma murmured something indecipherable and tightened his hold on her while nuzzling the back of her neck giving Ari goose bumps.

'I'm glad it's Takuma with me here now,' thought Ari contentedly while her memories strayed to all of the time they had spent together in the past few weeks. All of those memories were happy, which surprised her. She had never felt like this about anyone before. Takuma had somehow wormed his way into her shadowed heart.

'Am I in love with Takuma?' she wondered as she slowly fell asleep, still in Takuma's warm embrace.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

End Note: Yay fluff! I was actually planning on going in a completely different direction with this chapter, but this is how it came out. I'm not sure if I like this chapter or not. I'd like to know every one's opinion on it and whether or not I should change anything for future chapters. I'm always open to suggestion! Please R and R (with a Takuma on top of course). XD.


	10. Love?

A/N: I was so happy to see all of the reviews I got for the last chapter. Thanks for all of you who reviewed. You seriously made my day!

Sorry that it's been about a week since I updated. I've been sick. Have no fear though, its Thanksgiving break now so I'll have time to update.

I saw Twilight at midnight on Thursday. Beware, it was CORNY! It was still pretty good though. I now officially have the hots for Jasper. He was so emo but not emo at the same time. Oh Jasper… (author sighs in love and lust.)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vampire Knight… that's it.

**Unlocking the Gates:**

Love?

When Ari woke up the next morning she felt different, warmer than usual. When she tried to move she found she was pinned to the bed. And, whatever that something was, it constricted around her when she moved. Tensing immediately Ari raised her head up enough to look over at what was keeping her on the bed and froze when she saw an arm holding her down. She let her eyes follow the arm up and soon encountered Takuma's sleeping face, that's when everything from the night before rushed back to her.

Takuma was still sleeping even with all her movement. His face was peaceful and relaxed in his slumber. Ari wriggled around a little trying to get Takuma to loosen his arms so she could get up to take a shower. In response to her movement Takuma tightened the arm around her, bringing her closer to his chest and burying his face in her hair. Ari felt him nuzzling her hair and neck, nearly causing her to blush in embarrassment. She didn't know how he could stand being so close to her when she was still sweaty and covered in vampire dust from the night before. It didn't seem to bother him judging from how tightly he was holding her.

Sighing in frustration Ari settled down to wait until Takuma woke up. He looked so peaceful that she couldn't bear to wake him up. She didn't really mind watching him sleep either. It gave her a chance to watch him without him knowing about it.

'It's not stalkerish at all to watch him sleep,' her inner voice told her sarcastically. (A/N: you know that voice that always tells you things you don't want to hear. This is that voice. Am I the only one who has a voice that says things like that?).

'Shut it! Great, now I'm talking to myself. Things just keep getting better and better,' Ari told herself as she let out a sigh. She looked back up at Takuma's face from her position just below his chin. He had her tucked beneath his chin with her back to his chest. His arm draped tightly over her hips keeping her locked to him.

Ari was beginning to get hot from being so close to him. She wasn't sure if it was from his body heat or from the close proximity of someone she may love.

'Love…' thought Ari unsurely. She had never had these feelings for someone before. She assumed that she felt love towards him, but she wasn't sure. It was a whole new experience for her.

"Ari…" murmured Takuma. Ari tensed, thinking he had woken. She turned around slowly dreading the look of disgust that would surely be on his face when he found himself with his arms wrapped around her. When she looked up at his face she was surprised to see that he was still sleeping.

'He talks in his sleep. That's… cute,' Ari thought feeling her stomach erupt into butterflies. She slowly put her hand on her stomach, not used to the feeling. The butterflies were making her feel giddy and slightly nauseous.

Ari must have drifted back to sleep because the next thing she heard was a click and chuckling. Ari slowly opened her eyes and craned her head around coming face to face with none other than Aido Hanabusa. Ari froze and felt her eyes widen slightly at the sight of him with a camera and a smug smile on his face. Takuma groaned next to her and pulled her closer before tensing. He lifted his face up and looked at Ari's slightly stunned expression.

"This is great blackmail material," laughed Aido from next to the bed, taking another picture.

"Aido! Give me that camera," yelled Takuma as he sat up and finally released Ari from his grasp.

"No way," said Aido stubbornly while holding the camera away from them like that would stop them from taking it.

"Aido, give me the camera now," said Ari emotionlessly but coming dangerously close to growling. She really didn't need her brother to see those pictures. He and Takuma were roommates and Ari didn't want to cause any problems between them.

"Why should I give them to a freak like you?" snapped Aido callously.

"Aido, that's enough," said Takuma in a voice Ari had never heard him use before. Aido froze and looked incredulously over at Takuma, as did Ari. She had never heard him use that tone of voice with anyone before. Takuma was frowning angrily towards Aido with a serious look in his eyes. He was pissed.

"I'm tired of everyone being cruel to Ari when she's done nothing to deserve it," said Takuma fiercely. He strode over to Aido and looked him straight in the eyes, challenging him.

"I-Ichijo?" questioned Aido uncertainly, unsure of how to act around this new side of Takuma.

"It's okay Takuma," said Ari reassuringly. She was used to everyone treating her harshly. Ari wouldn't know how to act if everyone started to treat her with kindness. It would also be harder for her to control her emotions if she honestly liked everyone at Cross Academy. It was easier for her if they hated her.

At Ari's words Takuma seemed to deflate and the harsh look in his eyes slowly faded to be replaced with kindness once again.

"Wow Ichijo, I didn't realize that you liked her that much," said Aido mischievously with a small smirk on his face. Aido then turned to Ari with a speculative look on his face.

"Hmmm… I don't know what you see in her, but if she's that important to you then I guess it wouldn't hurt to try to be a _little_ nicer," said Aido resignedly to Takuma.

"Thank you Aido," said Takuma with relief. Aido turned to leave the room and quickly walked towards the door. Ari was too stunned to even respond. Outwardly she may have appeared calm but inside she was reeling. She didn't know what to say or think. Takuma had defended her and now she wouldn't have to put up with the insults anymore. Things were going to become harder but at least she would have friends.

"Aido, I think you're forgetting something," said Takuma with his hand held out towards Aido. Takuma wriggled his fingers towards him expectantly. Aido sighed and took the camera out of his pocket and tossed it towards Takuma who caught it easily. Takuma smiled and thanked him while Aido walked out the door mumbling what Ari believed to be obscenities. After Takuma caught the camera he turned the camera on and deleted all of the pictures of the two of them in bed. He had a small smile on his face when he finished deleting the pictures.

"I'm sorry about that," said Takuma in embarrassment as he scratched the back of his head nervously.

Ari had to fight a smile as she looked at him. He was still dressed in the clothes he had worn the night before and they were rumpled and stained. His hair was a mess too, blonde pieces sticking out in all directions. Ari was sure she was a mess to. When she looked down she expected to see her torn clothes from the night before but was surprised when she saw her nightgown instead.

"Takuma… where did my clothes from the night before go?" asked Ari hesitantly. Takuma blushed brightly as soon as she mentioned her clothes.

"W-well y-y-you were a-all c-covered in b-b-blood and I-I c-changed your c-clothes for y-you," said Takuma in obvious embarrassment. Once again his mood had changed drastically in the space of less than two seconds.

"You changed my clothes," stated Ari flatly.

"H-hai?" said Takuma unsure if he should admit it.

"I have to go take a shower now," said Ari abruptly. She desperately needed to get out of there before the blush she knew was coming could overtake her face.

"Ari wait, I'm sorry I did that. I was just trying to get you out of your clothes," said Takuma urgently. That statement only caused Ari to raise her eyebrows in disbelief.

"Wait, no, that didn't come out right," said Takuma while waving his hands around in desperation.

"What I meant is that you were covered in blood and it wouldn't be comfortable to sleep like that," babbled Takuma finally.

"Oh, I guess that's fine," said Ari unsurely. She could feel the blush spreading across her cheeks so she let her hair fall forward to cover her face.

"I-I'll leave you to take a shower. Don't forget that you have to talk with Kaname still," said Takuma before he left the room.

"Hai," said Ari before she headed into the bathroom, trusting Takuma to close the door behind him and not peek while she was taking her shower.

'Not like it matters. He's already seen me practically naked,' thought Ari sulkily.

Once Ari was dressed and out of the shower she immediately went over to Kaname's room. It could lead to your death to keep a pureblood waiting, plus it wasn't polite. She quickly knocked on the door and walked in when she heard Kaname give her permission to enter. After she closed the door softly behind her she looked up and was distressed to see Takuma sitting on the couch with Kaname.

"Kaname-sama, why is Takuma here?" asked Ari hesitantly. She knew she shouldn't question a pureblood but couldn't help but ask.

"He is a part of what happened last night," said Kaname firmly. He knew she didn't want Takuma to hear what she had done but he needed to know. Takuma had been spending a large amount of time with Ari. He would need to know what she was truly like and the dangers of being near her.

"I would like for you to tell us what happened last night Ari," said Kaname.

Ari wanted to glare at him but knew better than to glare at a pureblood. Kaname may have been someone she considered a friend but he was also a pureblood and therefore she was required to be respectful. There was only so much disrespect he would take from her.

"Hai Kaname-sama," said Ari with a small bow in his direction. Ari proceeded to tell the entire tale of how she had ended up injured and what she had done to dispose of the Level E's. She refused to look at Takuma the entire time and only focused on Kaname. When she was finished she risked a glance in Takuma's direction to see him wearing a shocked expression. Ari had not spared any details. Kaname would have known if she had skimmed over anything and he would _not_ have been pleased. She knew that he had done this so Takuma would know what she was truly like. He was trying to scare Takuma away and she didn't blame him for trying. Takuma was his best friend and she would have done the same thing if their positions were reversed.

"If that's everything then I'll be going now Kaname-sama," said Ari emotionlessly. Ari then turned and walked out of the room without looking back.

Takuma's POV:

Takuma was frozen in shock. He had no idea that Ari would be like that when she let her powers loose. What she had described had been vicious and bloodthirsty, two words he had never thought he would have to describe her as. Ari may have been slightly cold and emotionless but never vicious towards anyone. He was unable to even move when she left abruptly. He kept staring blankly at the spot she had been standing.

"What are you going to do now Takuma?" asked Kaname pensively.

"Is she really like that Kaname?" asked Takuma in return. He turned toward Kaname and looked at him unsurely.

"She said you knew her when she was younger. You know what she's really like," said Takuma, desperate for reassurance. He didn't want to believe that his friend could be so violent.

"There is a part of her that is vicious and bloodthirsty. It's a part of her that no one can control. Not even she can keep that part of herself under control at all times. One day it may escape her control and she could kill everyone around her. You have been spending a lot of time around her and you needed to know what could happen," said Kaname.

He didn't want to be the one to tell his friend that the girl he liked could kill him one day if she lost control. Yes, Takuma was falling in love with Ari. Kaname had figured it out the night Ari went hunting.

Takuma was always worried when someone went out to hunt but he had never he been that worried about anyone before. He had been planning on dismissing Takuma when the conversation turned to how Ari killed the Level E's but changed his mind when he saw how attached his friend had become to Ari. He had decided Takuma needed to know what Ari was like when she lost control. It was for Takuma's own safety and wellbeing.

"What are you going to do Takuma?" Kaname reiterated impatiently.

"I… I'm not going to change the way I treat her. She's still Ari no matter what happens," said Takuma firmly as he finally snapped out of his daze. While he was in his daze he had been thinking about all of the time they had been spending together. She had never harmed him or even made Takuma think that she was going to harm him. No matter what she did she was still Ari and nothing would change that.

"You truly love her don't you?" asked Kaname suddenly.

"What! I don't know what you're talking about. Of course I don't love her… of course I don't," murmured Takuma unsurely, staring down at his shoes with his brows furrowed in confusion. Kaname just stared serenely at him while he puzzled over his feelings for Ari.

"I have to go. I need to figure a few things out," said Takuma as he suddenly got up.

"Very well, you may go Takuma," said Kaname while trying to hide his grin.

Takuma went to the door and opened it still thinking deeply about what Kaname had said. He was thinking so deeply that he didn't notice the maid standing in front of the door waiting for Kaname to finish with his meeting. His thoughts were interrupted when he bumped into her, knocking the tray she was holding out of her hands.

"Ah, gomen," said Takuma sorrowfully.

"It's my fault for standing in the door Ichijo-san," said the maid happily.

"What did you need to see Kaname for?" asked Takuma curiously as he picked up the tray the maid had dropped. When he picked it up he noticed the slip of paper that had been on it and blanched when he read what was written.

"NANI!" yelled Takuma.

"It's a request for Ichijo-sama to visit," said the maid serenely. She was used to the unusual outbursts from the nobles and didn't even jump when he yelled practically in her ear.

"What is all the noise about Takuma," asked Kaname from the doorway. He had heard all the noise from outside his door and had come to see what the ruckus was about.

"Sorry for the disturbance Kaname-sama," said the maid with a bow.

"Takuma?" asked Kaname with a raised eyebrow wanting to know why he had yelled.

"My grandfather is coming to visit," said Takuma with dread.

Ari's POV:

'He hates me now. I must disgust him,' thought Ari in despair as she walked quickly back to her room. She needed some time alone to think about things. Unfortunately, it just didn't seem to be her night.

"Ari, I need to talk to you," said a familiar voice. Ari turned around slowly to come face to face with her brother.

'This is just what I need,' thought Ari sarcastically.

"Takuma didn't come back last night. Do you know where he was?" asked Shiki suspiciously.

"I..." Ari didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure if she should lie to her brother or not. She didn't want to strain Takuma and Shiki's relationship but she also didn't want to lie to her brother. Deciding that Aido would probably tell her brother if she didn't, Ari went with the truth.

"He was with me last night," said Ari finally.

"WHAT!" yelled Shiki.

Before Shiki could freak out anymore Ari cut him off. "He passed out because I took too much blood," said Ari quickly.

"Oh… so he passed out in your room. That's why he didn't come back last night?" asked Shiki in relief.

"Hai," said Ari emotionlessly. She really didn't want to deal with her brother right now. She needed to go to her room and think about everything that had happened and decide what to do next.

"I need to go now Shiki-nii," said Ari before turning around and once again heading to her room. She was stopped by Shiki's hand grabbing her arm holding her back.

"Ari, what's wrong?" whispered Shiki loud enough for her to hear.

"Nothing, I just need some time to myself,"

"Is this about Takuma?"

"… I don't want to talk about it," said Ari after a bit of thought. She really didn't want to talk to her brother about her problems. It would be uncomfortable for both of them.

"I'll see you at dinner," said Ari before walking to her room. When she finally reached her room she closed and locked the door behind her with a sigh. She quickly went over to her bed and ripped the sheets off of it in a fit of anger.

'Calm down Ari' she told herself before she lost control. Ari slowly sank to the floor and wrapped her arms around her legs, burying her face into her knees.

'Why does this hurt so much,' thought Ari in despair as she took deep breaths to calm herself down. Once she was sure that he emotions were under control she got up and grabbed a book off of her shelf, settling down to read for the rest of the night.

A/N: dun dun duuunnn! What's going to happen when Takuma's grandfather meets Ari? What's Takuma going to do with the new knowledge that he may be in love with Ari? What's Ari going to do now? Review please (with an Ichijo on top of course!)


	11. Family, Suspicions and Questions

A/N: Yay Thanksgiving Break! I'm a little sad about the lack of the reviews for the last chapter. I only had half as many as the previous chapter :( (Whoa, my computer made an unhappy face for me when I made the face the first time!  See! It did it again!) Remember that reviews are what keep me writing. I accept all reviews so please drop me a line or two! The longer the better.

Ichijo= Takuma's grandfather(I don't want anyone to be confused about

Takuma=Takuma (of course)who is who in this chapter.)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vampire Knight if I did it would always be Christmas! (I have no idea why I said that, it makes absolutely no sense hahahaha.)

**Unlocking the Gates:**

Family, Suspicions and Questions

Ari woke up the next morning to the sound of talking and shuffling of feet in the hallway.

'I just want to _sleep_! Is there anything wrong with that?' thought Ari as she let out a small moan. She pulled her pillow over her ears and rolled away from the door, trying to block out the noise.

After five minutes of listening to the noise in the hall she threw the pillow across the room in frustration. Ari was _not_ a morning person. She couldn't fall asleep with the racket going on in the hallway. She got out of her warm and comfortable bed and stretched with a groan. Rubbing her eyes and slumping she made her way to her closet to grab the detestable Cross Academy uniform. That was when a particularly loud bang startled Ari enough that she tripped over the rug on her floor and fell flat on her face.

"Why is it so loud this early in the morning?" Ari growled with frustration. Finally on her last nerve she got up to investigate the noises coming from the hallway outside of her room.

When she opened her door she found maids running through the halls. It looked like they were preparing for some sort of big event. They were dusting, sweeping, polishing and placing fragrant flowers into the many vases lining the hallway. Snagging a passing maids sleeve Ari was able to ask her what all of the commotion so early in the morning was about.

"You haven't been informed!?" asked the maid incredulously.

"I went to bed early last night," said Ari emotionlessly.

After reading her book for a couple hours Ari had gone to bed relatively early, or late depending on your point of view. She hadn't wanted to think about Takuma's reaction to her any longer and had sought the comfort of sleep to chase away her depressing thoughts.

"Ichijo-san's grandfather is coming to visit and pay his respects to Kaname-sama," said the maid politely.

"I see. You may finish your duties now," Ari told the maid quietly. Ari hadn't missed the maids fidgeting and understood that she probably had plenty to take care of before the arrival of Takuma's grandfather. With a nod of gratitude the maid bowed and scurried away to perform the rest of her duties.

'I suppose I'll be expected to meet him to show my respect,' thought Ari morosely. She hadn't met Takuma's grandfather before but had heard about him from Shiki. What she heard hadn't been good. Ari was _not_ looking forward to meeting him. If she thought she could get away with it Ari would have just stayed away from him, but it would be considered an insult if she avoided him. It also didn't help that his grandson probably hated her now. And speaking of the devil…

"Ari," called a singsong voice before the door was abruptly thrown open.

Ari unhurriedly turned around to face the person who had suddenly opened her door. She knew who it was; no one else would have the guts to barge into her room unannounced. What she was surprised about was that he was still barging into her room after the night before, when he had found out about the monster she could become.

"What is it Takuma?" Ari coolly asked, completely unfazed by his sudden appearance. She couldn't let him know that his presence was causing her heart to beat wildly.

"Why are you being so cold this morning?" pouted Takuma. He had immediately picked up on her frostiness.

Ari just stared at him emotionlessly, her eyes reflecting her disbelief.

'There's no way he forgot,' thought Ari as a sweat drop appeared on the back of her head. Not even Takuma was that dense, at least she didn't think so.

"Have you forgotten what I told you last night?" asked Ari. It couldn't hurt to remind him, maybe then he'd remember and leave her to her misery. Ari watched as Takuma put his hand on his chin in a thoughtful expression.

'He really is that dense,' thought Ari with an internal sigh.

"Oh yeah! Now I remember. I decided that I didn't care. You're still Ari, my best friend, no matter what you turn into or who you kill," said Takuma happily with his trademark kind smile.

'It sounds slightly… disturbing when he puts it that way,' thought Ari before the words completely registered in her mind. When they finally did register she felt joy and happiness blossom within her. She wanted to scream, laugh and cry all at the same time. He still wanted to be her friend!

'Why do I feel this way? Is it love?' wondered Ari as she fought down the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. Ari lifted her head allowing Takuma to look into her eyes and see the joy and happiness within them.

When Takuma saw it he felt his smile become even wider if possible. When Ari let her emotions shine through her eyes like that he couldn't help but think that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. If only he could see her truly smile just once.

"You didn't really think that I would hate you just because you're a bit… enthusiastic when you kill Level E's, did you?" asked Takuma with a slight hesitation as he tried to think of the best word to describe her when she hunted without hurting her feelings.

"You mean bloodthirsty, coldhearted or vicious," said Ari tonelessly as she let her head hang down in shame.

"You can't help it and it's a part of who you are. I wouldn't have you any other way Ari. If you were different you wouldn't be Ari and you wouldn't be my best friend," said Takuma with compassion.

"But,"

"No buts, you're perfect just the way you are and don't be ashamed of it," interrupted Takuma firmly.

Ari felt tears threaten to overflow at Takuma's overwhelming kindness. No one had ever said anything like that to her.

"I don't like seeing you sad," murmured Takuma as he gracefully walked towards Ari and gently lifted her chin to look into her eyes.

Ari stared up into his kind green eyes and felt a foreign sensation wash through her, she wanted something but wasn't sure what. The sensation only grew stronger when Takuma leaned in closer to her face, the inches between them rapidly decreasing. Ari felt herself leaning in closer to him as well and she closed her eyes in anticipation of something she knew nothing about. Just as their lips were about to touch the door was suddenly flung open for the second time that day, causing the two 'friends' to spring apart from each other quickly.

"What are you going to wear today Ari? You need to look nice to meet Ichijo-san," said Rima with her arms still spread wide from flinging the door open and a smile on her face. She failed to notice the flustered appearance of Takuma and the bewildered appearance of Ari.

"I-I'm not sure," stuttered Ari, the only sign that she was surprised by Rima's sudden entrance into her room. Rima seemed to suddenly notice Takuma standing the in the middle of Ari's room.

"Shoo Takuma! I need to get Ari ready to meet your grandfather! Don't forget that she needs to make a good impression on him. If she doesn't then he might not let her visit during break!" said Rima sternly while shaking her finger at Takuma in admonishment.

"Visit Takuma during break?" Ari questioned. She hadn't heard anything about visiting him while the school was closed down for winter break.

" Rima why don't you help Ari pick out something to wear, I've got to go now," laughed Takuma nervously while rubbing the back of his head. After he was finished talking he quickly ran through the door and disappeared down the hallway.

"What was that about?" asked Ari emotionlessly but with an eyebrow arched, showing she was confused by Takuma's behavior.

"Hahaha, uuuhhh, nothing nothing," said Rima nervously.

"Hmmm," uttered Ari suspiciously. Something was up with the two of them. They were planning something and if Rima was involved then Shiki was also. She could ask her brother later.

"Let's pick out your outfit for meeting Ichijo-san," said Rima brightly, obviously trying to change the subject, Ari let her for the time being.

Rima went over to Ari's closet and searched through it flinging clothes all over Ari's room in the process. After about five minutes Rima seemed to have found an outfit she thought was acceptable. She brought her choice over to Ari and forced her into the bathroom to change.

"Have you met Ichijo-san before?" asked Rima from the other side of the bathroom door while Ari changed.

"No," said Ari shortly as she dressed. Once she had finally managed to get the outfit on she walked out of the bathroom. It was a dress that she had never worn before. The entire dress was the deep velvety black of midnight and came down to her knees. There were satiny ribbons for the straps and ribbons that wrapped around her torso, giving it a corset-like appearance.

"It'll do. I think that some black flats will go with it nicely," said Rima critically. She was eyeing Ari up and down with an approving look in her eyes. Rima quickly went to Ari's closet once again and grabbed a pair of black flats she found in there, tossing them to Ari. Once Ari had the shoes on she stood still while Rima walked around her appraisingly.

"I think we should leave your hair down like it is," said Rima once she had finished her circuit of Ari.

With a clap of her hands Rima grinned and pronounced that Ari was all set. With a nod in Ari's direction Rima left the room saying she still had to get ready and would see her when Ichijo arrived.

'Rima sure is acting weird. She usually isn't this cheery. I wonder if she's nervous about Ichijo-san visiting,' wondered Ari.

Ari walked casually around her room picking up the clothes Rima had thrown all over in her enthusiasm.

Ari wondered what would have happened if Rima hadn't interrupted Takuma. She had seen people kissing before and wondered if that was what Takuma had been getting ready to do. Ari shook her head at her silly thoughts. There was no way Takuma would want to kiss her, but she could help but wonder and wish he would.

Once she was finished picking up clothes Ari decided to join everyone down in the main room to wait for Ichijo-san's arrival. When she walked down the stairs she immediately spotted Shiki's bright red hair and walked over to join him. Takuma and Kaname eventually walked down the stairs a few minutes after Ari's arrival.

Risking a glance over at Kaname Ari found he was as stoic as usual, unsurprisingly. Takuma, on the other hand, was nervously fidgeting, twining his fingers together while staring at the Moon Dorm doors.

Ari decided it would be a good idea to try to comfort Takuma. She could tell he was upset that his grandfather was visiting and she didn't like seeing him in that state. Without really thinking too much about her decision Ari quickly reached over and gathered Takuma's hands into her own. Takuma threw her a startled glance but quickly relaxed and smiled at her. Ari was about to withdraw her hands but he tightened his own around hers, looking at her with pleading eyes. With an almost silent sigh Ari let him keep her hands. Once he was sure she wouldn't try to take her hands back he slowly let go of her left hand and brought their entwined hands down near their waists inconspicuously.

Ari was surprised Takuma was so nervous to meet with his own _grandfather. _She had heard he was formidable, but to have his own grandson anxious he must be a very commanding individual.

Takuma suddenly stiffened and stared at the Moon Dorm doors as they flew open revealing the authoritative figure of what must be Takuma's grandfather. He rapidly walked forward until he was in front of his grandson and Kaname.

"Takuma, how have things been at Cross Academy?" asked Ichijo without preamble.

"I have been having a wonderful time grandfather. I've also made a friend," said Takuma, gesturing towards Ari. Ichijo turned his piercing gaze onto Ari when Takuma introduced her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ichijo-san. I am Arianna," murmured Ari with a small bow in his direction making sure to keep eye contact. She didn't want him to think she was just another vampire willing to bow down to his every whim and was also slightly angry he had made Takuma so nervous.

Ichijo narrowed his eyes when he saw her keeping eye contact during her bow. He had seen her somewhere before, but where?

"You are Shiki's younger sister, correct?" asked Ichijo, finally remembering who she was.

"Hai," said Ari expressionlessly.

"I see," he said with a small smirk.

Ari narrowed her eyes when she saw his smirk. Ari made a mental note to keep an eye on him; she didn't like the way he was looking at her.

Thankfully after the introduction was over Ichijo turned his attention towards Kaname and away from a suspicious Ari.

While he spoke with Kaname Ari turned her attention inward to figure out why she was so suspicious of Takuma's grandfather. There was just something about him that set off Ari's internal alarm and made her want to destroy him. He was planning something, Ari was sure of that.

Ari was pulled from her thoughts by the sudden movement of Aido and Ruka towards Kaname. Looking around in bewilderment Ari saw all of the vampire's were sending hateful glares towards Ichijo. Ari looked at Ichijo and saw he was kneeling in front of Kaname, holding Kaname's hand.

'What did he say?' Ari wondered in confusion. Takuma was tense beside her. He looked upset as he watched his grandfather.

"I must be going now. It was a pleasure to see you again Kaname-sama," said Ichijo as he got up off of his knees and gave a deep bow to Kaname before sweeping out of the Moon Dorm.

"Well that was interesting," mumbled Takuma with a small bitter smile towards Ari. He frowned when he saw the faraway look in her eyes.

"Ari?" asked Takuma. At the sound of her name the faraway look disappeared and Ari focused on Takuma.

"Did you say something?" asked Ari.

"Nothing," said Takuma with a laugh. Inside he was worried though. Ari rarely lost focus and never when something important was happening.

"Okay then," mumbled Ari suspiciously. From the way Takuma was acting she had missed something, but if it was important Takuma would have told her.

"I'm going back to my room. I'll see you later Takuma," said Ari with a wave as she walked up the stairs.

"Hai," replied Takuma uncertainly.

'She's hiding something,' thought Takuma.

_-2 weeks later_

"So what do you want to do today?" asked Takuma with a smile as he played with the hem of his shirt.

Ari was currently lying on her bed reading a book with Takuma's head resting in her lap, playing idly with his hair as she read. They had become even closer (if possible) in the past couple of weeks. Neither had mentioned what had almost happened in Ari's room before Rima interrupted them. They hadn't had any more moments like that either. Takuma seemed to like being close to her and Ari didn't mind; she enjoyed the physical and emotional comfort Takuma gave her by being close. (A/N: Not _that_ kind of physical comfort for you dirty minded people out there hahaha.)

"I don't care. You can pick," said Ari tonelessly, to interested in her book to pay much attention to him.

"How about we play Sardines(1)!" said Takuma excitedly while looking up at her childishly.

"Sardines," said Ari monotonously as she put her book down, making sure to mark her page. He had succeeded in getting her attention now.

'He has got to be kidding. Then again this _is_ Takuma we're talking about,' thought Ari resignedly.

"Fine, as long as you can get more than just us to play," said Ari emotionlessly. She had told him they could do what he wanted today.

After about a half an hour of pleading Takuma had managed to convince Kain, Shiki, Rima and Aido to play Sardine's with them. Realizing that Ruka wasn't among them Ari sighed in relief. Ruka was still angry with Ari but the others had slowly warmed up to the emotionless girl.

Ari found Kain to be quiet and steady like a rock. He was nice to be around when she was finding it difficult to control her emotions.

Aido had also slowly warmed up to her and had started including her in his jokes on the rest of the Night Class. He had found Ari's ability to keep her face completely emotionless useful when he needed to convince someone he wasn't lying, or if he needed them to go to a certain spot for the joke to work. It seemed that no one expected Ari to have a sense of humor and appreciation for Aido's jokes. Aido was just happy he had found an accomplice.

Rima was great to have around because she helped Ari with her wardrobe. Rima enjoyed having Ari around for girly conversations she didn't want to have with Ruka. Ari also found Rima enjoyed hearing stories about Shiki's childhood. Shiki wasn't happy that Ari was telling Rima about the silly things he did when he was a child, but he was happy that Ari and Rima were getting along well.

Ari hadn't been able to spend much time with Seiran due to her guarding duties to Kaname but Ari found Seiran to be a good practice partner, as long as she didn't use her powers.

"All right, is everyone ready? All of you know the rules?" asked Takuma. When everyone nodded he clapped once and smiled happily.

"Then who wants to hide first?" asked Takuma.

"I will," said Ari as she raised her hand. She figured if she hid she wouldn't have to do as much work, plus Ari enjoyed the peace until someone found her.

"Okay Ari! Then we'll count to 20 and come looking for you," said Takuma excitedly.

"Ready?" asked Takuma.

Ari nodded.

"We're starting! One…two…three," said Takuma with his hands over his eyes.

That was all Ari heard because she was soon racing through the backyard of the Moon Dorm and into the forest. Ari knew the perfect place to hide. She came out here often when she needed to get away from everyone. She quickly ran and slide inside what looked like a large log. There was a huge tree that had been hollowed out by termites and had fallen. At the base of the trunk was a small opening that anyone could crawl through which widened into a spacious area that could fit ten people (A/N: it was a big tree okay!). Ari settled down to wait, not knowing how long it would take for everyone to find her.

After about five minutes of hearing people running back and forth past her tree someone finally stopped and looked inside, spotting Ari resting comfortably inside. With a quick look around they slipped quietly inside with Ari. Once the person was inside Ari was able to see Rima grinning at her.

"Great hiding place," Rima whispered.

"Thank you," replied Ari quietly.

After about five minutes Rima seemed to grow bored.

"So how are things between you and Ichijo?" asked Rima innocently.

"Fine," Ari replied suspiciously. Something was up.

"I've noticed you two have been getting pretty close," said Rima.

"Hn," Ari didn't know what Rima wanted but she wasn't going to let Rima trick her into saying anything.

"Fine," Rima sighed. She had known she probably wouldn't get anything out of Ari but had decided to try. Ari and Takuma had been getting very close lately and Rima was wondering when Takuma would finally ask her out on a date. It was obvious they liked each other but both were too shy to do anything about it.

"You're both being too loud," said a masculine voice from the entrance of the tree. The voice immediately slipped in next to them after saying that. When he was finally inside Ari saw it was Kain who had found them.

After Kain found them the rest were quick to find the hiding place. Soon Takuma was the only one left and Ari was starting to get worried that something might have happened to him. Her fears were laid to rest soon enough though when she saw a shadow outside of the log and a whining voice complaining about being the last one as he looked into the log and saw all of them inside.

"You're it Takuma," said Shiki.

"Fine," Takuma pouted.

Everyone counted to twenty once again as Takuma raced off into the forest to find a hiding place. Once the counting was finished everyone spread out and split up to find him. Ari jogged through the forest looking around and stopped when she heard a slight rustle above her. She immediately crouched down defensively and looked up, only to meet a pair of green eyes. Ari relaxed when she recognized Takuma hiding in the tree. Taking a quick look around she quickly climbed up to join Takuma on the highest branch.

"You found me quickly," murmured Takuma sulkily.

"You were making noise," responded Ari sensibly.

Takuma chuckled. They both sat in companionable silence waiting for the rest to find them.

"Ari," said Takuma nervously. Ari turned to look at him questioningly.

"Ah… would you… maybe go on a date with me?" asked Takuma while staring down at the ground in embarrassment.

"What?" asked Ari in shock.

"It's okay if you don't want to, I understand," said Takuma quickly with a smile plastered on his face. Only it wasn't one of his normal smiles this time, this smile was fake and Ari didn't like it. She wanted him to only show her his truly happy smiles that he always had on when they were together.

"I-I would love to go on a date with you," mumbled Ari quietly. She could feel her cheeks heating up in embarrassment and looked down to hide it.

"Really!" said Takuma in excitement.

"Un," nodded Ari still looking down in embarrassment.

"How about next Saturday?" asked Takuma.

"That's fine," mumbled Ari, risking a quick glance up to look at Takuma's face. What she saw there made the blush even worse. He was practically blinding her with his smile. She had never seen him so happy before. He looked adorable!

"I thought I told you not to be so loud," said Kain from below them, addressing Ari. Takuma jumped when he heard Kain's voice.

"Gomen," said Ari monotonously, once again gaining control over her emotions and extinguishing her blush.

Kain climbed up with them and sat on the branch. Ari wondered if he had heard their conversation but couldn't tell. Kain was almost as good as her when it came to controlling his emotions.

After Kain found them it, once again, didn't take long for the rest. They played Sardine's until everyone had a change at hiding. Soon Rima and Shiki complained about being tired and they all headed back to the Moon Dorm. Everyone seemed to be worn out from the game and went to their respective rooms to relax before school started the next night. Takuma seemed to understand that she needed some space after the shock of him asking her out and left to go to his room after walking her to hers.

Once Ari was inside she shut the door with a sigh of relief. She could still feel a happy smile trying to break through her barrier. She wanted to dance, sing and run around like a crazy woman. She had never felt as happy as she did now. She let out a blissful sigh as she let herself fall down on her bed with her arms spread out. Takuma had asked her on a date!

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(1)Sardine's- A game where one person hides (the hider) and the rest of the people playing count before looking for the person. Usually people look for the hider on their own or in small groups. When you find the hider you quickly join them in their hiding place without letting anyone else see you. Everyone joins the hider as they find him/her until only one person is left (usually people end up packed together like sardines, hence the name). The last person to find the hider has to hide in the next round.

A/N: Yay, another chapter completed! I know Rima's kind of OC in this fic, but that's just the way she came out when I was writing. Please please please review, it makes me so happy when you do (hey that rhymed! I think I'll use that from now on!) I hope everyone had a very happy thanksgiving (for those of you in the United States). For those of you not in the United States it sucks that you don't get a break!


	12. DDay: Does it stand for Date or Doom?

A/N: I'm so SORRY! I had finals and spent almost every moment I had studying in the library. Thank you everyone who reviewed. The good part about not writing is that it gave me time to plan out the rest of the storyXD. So without further adieu… the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight. I do own Ari and the elderly couple though.

**Unlocking the Gates:**

D-Day: Does the D stand for Date or Doom?

Today is the day. Today is THE day. Today is _the _day. No matter how many different ways Ari thought or said it, it still meant the same thing. Today was her date with Takuma.

Rima was currently helping Ari choose her outfit for the date that night. In fact, Rima had been helping Ari choose an outfit for the past hour and a half. After about a half hour Rima had successfully buried Ari beneath a mountain of clothes. After an hour and a half you couldn't even see the floor of Ari's bedroom, let alone Ari.

'I didn't even know I had so many clothes. In fact, I know I don't. This shirt isn't even mine,' thought Ari as she looked around with difficulty and grabbed a shirt she had never seen before. Ari looked around as she heard a muffled voice coming from somewhere outside the confines of her clothes prison. Deciding it was about time for Rima to be done flinging clothes Ari clawed her way out of seemingly impenetrable pile of clothes.

"What about this?" asked Rima holding up a mini skirt and tube top.

"No," said Ari flatly. The top was a disgusting pink color. It was all frilly too! Ari did not do frilly or pink.

"Fine, don't trust the model who knows all the latest fashions," murmured Rima with a small pout on her face as she turned away to pick out a different outfit.

Ari ignored her pouting. There was no way she was giving in and wearing that thing Rima called an outfit. Ari was sure it hadn't come from her closet. She had a sneaking suspicion Rima had brought it with her.

Ari sat down on the bed to wait for Rima to pick out another outfit which Ari would inevitably refuse because it would either be too bright or too girly.

After another half an hour Ari was near the breaking point. She didn't understand why she couldn't just wear something she would normally wear. Deciding it couldn't hurt, Ari voiced her question.

"It's a date! You can't wear your normal clothes on a date! You have to look special," said Rima like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What does it matter what I wear. Isn't the most important thing that your date likes you for who you are, not what you wear?" asked Ari monotonously with her eyes dancing in laughter. She'd like to see Rima try to worm her way out of that one.

Rima turned around and stared at Ari, surprised she had said more than three words at a time. Then she looked into Ari's eyes and saw the laughter hiding in them.

"Nice try Ari, you're still wearing something nice for your date," said Rima with a smirk. Ari's eyes quickly went from dancing with laughter to fuming with frustration after her words.

"Here, what about this?" asked Rima. She was holding up a dark blood red sweater dress which would reach mid-thigh when Ari put it on. It was long-sleeved and looked comfortable and warm which was good considering it was almost winter and the nights were becoming uncomfortably chilly.

Seeing that Ari didn't immediately reject it Rima took her silence as acceptance and went on with what she could wear with it.

"You can wear a pair of black tights underneath it and your red flats. What do you think?" asked Rima excitedly. She could already picture Ari in it. Takuma holding Ari closely and whispering in her ear while Ari blushed and looked into his eyes…

"I'll wear it," said Ari emotionlessly, interrupting Rima's daydream of their date. Rima smiled slightly to herself.

'Ari blushing while Takuma whispered words of love into her ear, yeah right' thought Rima with a snort.

"Go try it on while I get the rest of your outfit ready," said Rima commandingly.

Ari went into the bathroom and put on the outfit. Once she was ready she left the bathroom reluctantly. Not looking forward to the rest of Rima's torture.

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"You done yet Takuma?" yelled Shiki through the door of their shared bathroom.

"Yeah, I guess," yelled Takuma back before coming out of the bathroom to be judged by Shiki who had years of experience in this sort of thing. Takuma was wearing a deep green sweatshirt that matched his eyes with a white collar and cuffs peaking out of the sweatshirt at the neck and wrists. He also had on a pair of black pants and shoes.

"Not bad, it suits you," complemented Shiki with a small smile. He was happy for his friend and especially for his sister. She deserved someone as kind as Takuma. He would be good for her and maybe he could break through her emotional barriers one day.

"You've got ten minutes until you meet her downstairs," stated Shiki before he climbed onto his bed and laid down.

"So where are you taking her?" asked Shiki while staring at the ceiling.

"It's a secret," said Takuma with a bright smile.

"When are you getting back?" questioned Shiki still without looking at Takuma.

"By sunrise," said Takuma.

"You're not planning on… doing anything to her, right?" asked Shiki.

"Huh, doing what?" said Takuma with confusion. He cocked his head to the side to stare at Shiki who still wouldn't meet his eyes. Then it dawned on him why Shiki was asking him all of those questions.

"You're questioning me about my intentions with your sister, aren't you?" asked Takuma with a smile slowly forming on his lips.

"So what if I am!" said Shiki defensively finally looking at Takuma. Takuma finally lost it and burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" yelled Shiki.

"Sorry, it's just that I didn't expect you to start acting like a protective older brother," said Takuma still laughing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" murmured Shiki with a frown.

"Shiki, I'm your roommate and your friend. You're questioning me about your sister who I've been spending time alone with for the past month and just now asking me about my intentions with her," stated Takuma in disbelief while trying to hold back the chuckles which were trying to escape his control.

Shiki just huffed in response to Takuma's comment.

"I didn't think about it until now," said Shiki with his arms crossed and a pout on his face as he looked away from Takuma who couldn't hold his laughter back anymore.

"Shiki…hahaha… you're not… hahaha… mad at me…haha… are you?" asked Takuma between laughs.

Seeing Takuma clutching his sides and laughing caused Shiki to crack a small smile.

"I guess it is kind of absurd for me to be asking you those questions now, isn't it?" said Shiki with a chuckle.

"Just a little," said Takuma as he wiped tears from his eyes.

"Hey, it's time for you to meet Ari downstairs," said Shiki after he looked at his watch to check the time.

At the mention of meeting Ari Takuma's face turned pink and he raced around grabbing everything he would need before heading to the door. But before Takuma could open the door Shiki called out to him.

"Takuma, if you do anything inappropriate to Ari I _will_ find out and I _will_ make you regret doing it," said Shiki with a creepy smile on his face.

At Shiki's comment Takuma's face went slightly pale and he nodded enthusiastically. He quickly left after that and closed the door with a sigh of relief.

'That was _scary_!' thought Takuma with a shiver. He quickly cheered up though when he thought about seeing Ari soon. Rima had kept her imprisoned in her room for the past couple of hours and wouldn't let him see Ari. He couldn't wait to see what she looked like.

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Ari was waiting patiently for Takuma in the entrance hall of the Moon Dorms. She had propped herself comfortably against a wall with her arms crossed. Rima had left at Ari's request but she had a gut feeling that Rima was hiding somewhere near with Shiki-nii to spy on them.

Ari heard footsteps on the stairs and looked up to be greeted with a smiling Takuma. She pushed away from the wall she was leaning against and walked toward him smiling with her eyes, completely forgetting about Rima and Shiki.

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What Ari didn't know was that it wasn't just Rima and Shiki watching them. Hidden in the shadows of one of the tall pillars located in the Moon Dorm stood Kaname carefully watching Takuma and Ari interact with each other.

"Seiran," said Kaname quietly.

"Hai, Kaname-sama," replied Seiran with a bow after she appeared from the shadows next to Kaname.

"I want you to keep an eye on them tonight. Do not let yourself be seen. If Ari loses control use this," ordered Kaname as he handed her a small syringe filled with a golden liquid.

"Hai Kaname-sama," said Seiran with another bow, taking the syringe and fading back into the shadows.

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As Takuma walked toward Ari he couldn't help but admire the outfit Rima had picked out for her. The sweater suited her and hugged all the right places, he couldn't help but notice. She had pulled her hair away from her face with a red headband that matched the sweater dress. She looked so soft and inviting. He just wanted to pull her to him and squeeze, she looked so cute!

"Are you ready to go?" asked Takuma once he had finished his perusal, his faced tinged pink.

Ari nodded in response. When she had seen him all the nervousness of going on a date had assaulted her. She had been fine all day, why did it have to be now she became nervous?

Ari and Takuma proceeded to walk out of the Moon Dorm and down the path to town.

"I thought you would enjoy walking more than taking a car," said Takuma in an attempt to break the silence which had settled over them.

"Yes, thank you Takuma," said Ari as she visibly relaxed. Those simple words he had uttered had been able to calm and relax her. He knew her preferences and what she enjoyed doing. They were probably just going to do things that they normally did, only it was now called a "date".

"What are we going to do?" asked Ari emotionlessly but with curiosity raging in her eyes. He had refused to tell her what they were doing until they were actually on their date.

"I figured you wouldn't want to do anything really big so I decided we could go out to eat, maybe go to the library if you want, and then head into the forest. Does that sound good?" asked Takuma with a smile. He already knew her answer of course. He had been planning this for over a week, hoping she would say yes.

"It sounds great," said Ari with happiness and relief shining in her eyes. She had been slightly worried he would go overboard and do something elaborate.

They walked together the rest of the way to town talking occasionally but mostly enjoying the silence of their peaceful night together. When they reached town it was slightly crowded. Feeling uncomfortable Ari shuffled closer to Takuma.

Sensing her unease Takuma reached over and took her hand into his causing Ari to jump slightly. When Ari looked up in surprised she found Takuma looking down at her with a joyous smile on his face.

"Is this all right?" asked Takuma in concern as he raised their joined hands so she knew what he was talking about.

Ari just nodded in response. She wasn't sure if her voice would be steady and decided it would be safer to nod. When Takuma had taken her hand into his larger one her heart had started to beat erratically. She could feel a blush trying to redden her skin but managed to fight it down before it colored her cheeks.

Takuma lead her through town until they reached an upscale restaurant. When they reached the door he let go of her hand and held the door open for her. Once she was inside she looked back for Takuma only to see him holding open the door for an elderly couple that had been walking behind them. When Takuma joined him Ari stared up at him showing how happy she was that he had held the door for the elderly couple.

"You have such a sweet boyfriend," said the elderly woman Takuma had held the door open for. She patted Ari's arm while smiling at Ari.

"Arigato," murmured Ari quietly, unsure of what else to say. She wasn't used to talking to strangers. They rarely approached her because of her impassive façade.

"It's nice to see youngsters who still hold respect for their elders," said the elderly man accompanying the elderly woman.

Takuma and Ari held back their amusement since they were most likely older than either of them. They both nodded their agreement genially.

"Have a good time dearies," said the elderly woman before her and her husband walked up to the host.

Once the elderly man and woman had been seated the host came back and escorted them to their table after asking Takuma for his name.

"Is this restaurant okay? I know you probably would have preferred something smaller but I wanted to take you somewhere nice," said Takuma nervously while rubbing the back of his head with a smile on his face.

"I don't mind," said Ari letting her smile show through her eyes.

Takuma let out a sigh of relief at hearing she was fine with the restaurant he had picked.

Dinner went by smoothly. Ari spent her time asking Takuma about the different manga he liked while Takuma returned her questions asking her what kind of books she liked. Before Ari knew it Takuma was paying the bill and they were leaving the restaurant heading toward the library. Ari wanted to see if a book she had ordered was in yet.

"Takuma, would you mind asking the librarian about my book for me?" asked Ari nervously.

"Sure, but why?" answered Takuma with confusion.

"I don't want to frighten the librarian. I'll probably order more books in the future and want to be on good terms with him," said Ari while staring down at the cobblestones beneath their feet trying to avoid Takuma's sharp eyes. If she looked up at him he would see the sadness in them.

"Ari," murmured Takuma sadly. He gently took her chin and lifted her face up so he could look into her eyes. When their eyes met he saw the sadness lurking in their depths.

"Will you do it?" asked Ari while pleading with her eyes.

"Yeah," he sighed.

When he sighed his breath ghosted across Ari's face and a sweet scent invaded her sensitive nose. Ari wanted nothing more at that moment than to close the distance between them and place her lips onto his to capture more of his sweet scent. Ari started leaning in staring at him with a glazed over look in her eyes.

'He smells so good. I bet he would taste even better… wait… this isn't right… what am… what am I DOING!' yelled Ari internally, coming back to her senses and pulling away from Takuma with a blush.

"Ari?" asked Takuma unsurely. He had seen her lean in slightly but she had pulled away just as quickly.

"Let's go to the library," said Ari quickly. She didn't want to talk about what had almost happened.

When they reached the library Takuma immediately walked up to the owner with Ari in tow and asked whether the book Ari had ordered was in yet.

"The one who ordered the book had a feminine voice. Not to mention a feminine name," said the librarian with a quirked eyebrow.

"Uuuhhhh," said Takuma intelligently, not sure of what to do. He looked back at Ari for guidance.

"Would your name be Arianna, miss?" asked the librarian after catching the look Takuma gave Ari.

"H-hai," murmured Ari unsurely causing the librarian to chuckle.

'Why are strangers talking to me all of a sudden? People have always avoided me and now this is the second stranger who's talked to me tonight. I'll ask Takuma about it later' thought Ari.

"Well then here's your book. I'll just need your signature to show you picked up the book," said the librarian warmly with a smile in her direction.

Ari nodded and quickly stepped up to sign her name. Once she finished her signature the librarian handed her the book she had ordered.

"Have a good evening Miss Arianna," said the librarian with a wave as Takuma lead her out of the library.

Ari nodded at him and waved back before Takuma whisked her out the door. Once they were outside Takuma quickly lead her through town and out into the forest. Ari was struggling to keep up with his fast pace.

"T-takuma, can we slow down a little?" asked Ari as she struggled to keep up with him without running.

"Huh? Oh sorry," said Takuma with a smile when he realized he had been practically dragging Ari through the forest.

"It's fine," said Ari as she caught up to him.

Another few minutes of walking brought them to a clearing in the woods. In the exact middle of the clearing there was a blanket spread out.

"We're here," said Takuma with a smile.

Ari looked at him curiously as he led her to the blanket and sat down. Ari was still standing looking down at him in confusion. Takuma just smiled at her and patted the space next to him.

"I know how much you like to look at the stars, so I thought we could come here and watch them," said Takuma as he gently pulled her down next to him. Once she was seated he laid down with his hands behind his head with a small smile playing on the edges of his lips as he looked up at her. Realizing that she was staring at him she laid down next to him and looked up at the stars.

Takuma had picked a great spot. The trees surrounding them made Ari feel comfortable and safe while the openness of the clearing and view of the stars kept her from feeling confined by the forest.

"How did you know I liked to stargaze?" whispered Ari. She didn't want to disturb the peace that had settled over them. The only time she had gone stargazing was when she was seeking solitude in the forest.

'I'm sure I didn't tell him. I don't know why I never did though, I guess it never came up,' thought Ari.

"When I would come into your room I would sometimes see you sitting in your window seat staring up at them. I may have also followed you into the forest a few times," said Takuma timidly.

Ari raised her eyebrows and stared at him.

"You _may_ have followed me into the forest?" asked Ari emotionlessly.

"OK. I did follow you into the forest a few times in the beginning. I was worried! I didn't want you to get hurt out there by yourself. I'm sorry, please forgive me!" pleaded Takuma as he held her hand in both of his larger ones. He had rolled over onto his side to plead with her.

"You don't follow me anymore?" asked Ari emotionlessly but with caution in her eyes.

"No. Kaname found me trying to sneak out after you one night and scolded me," said Takuma with a pout.

At the look on his face Ari had to hold back a chuckle. He saw the laughter dancing in her eyes though.

"I forgive you," said Ari with a sigh. She could never stay mad at him for long. Damn puppy dog eyes.

Once he was assured of her forgiveness he rolled back over, still holding Ari's hand, to look at the stars again.

'I wonder if Takuma would mind if I moved closer to him?' wondered Ari. She decided it wouldn't hurt to try and started to slowly move towards him. When she was about an inch away Takuma startled her by wrapping his free arm around her pulling her flush against his side and started laughing.

"You thought you were being sneaky didn't you?" teased Takuma still laughing at Ari's failed attempt to get closer to him without him noticing.

"Yes," said Ari as she looked up at him, her eyes showing she was pouting at being caught.

Takuma just continued to laugh and pull her closer to his chest. They laid there for a few more minutes until Ari felt something touch her head. Reacting out of instinct she snapped her arm up and grabbed what was touching her. When she grabbed the offending object Takuma let out a yelp of shock and jumped. It was then Ari realized the object she was holding was Takuma's hand which he had been trying to sneak into her hair.

"I guess we're even now," said Takuma with a laugh, not at all embarrassed by being caught.

"Sorry," said Ari, letting go of his hand.

"I-I don't mind if you play with my hair," murmured Ari quietly and emotionlessly. She found it calming when people did but there were so few people willing to talk to her, let alone touch her. Thinking things through she realized more people had started talking to her and even touching her. Rima had even given her a hug once. Aido and Kain both liked to ruffle her hair when they saw her. Not to mention Takuma who was currently holding her hand and playing with her hair.

'It feels so good,' thought Ari dreamily. Anytime someone played with her hair or brushed it she went into a trance like state that could last for hours.

Takuma gently combed his fingers through her hair and held back a chuckle at the expression in her eyes. He felt sadness as he looked at her expressionless face though. He wished she could show what she was feeling. Sure she expressed herself through her eyes but it would be nice to see those emotions reflecting on her face just once. Luckily Ari was too entranced to notice the brief sadness that overtook his eyes as he gazed at her. Takuma lifted himself up onto his elbow gently bringing his hand out of her hair and around to cup her cheek in his hand. She looked so vulnerable and beautiful lying there gazing up at him softly. He couldn't resist anymore, he wanted to know what her lips would feel like.

"Just one kiss…" Takuma murmured before he leaned down and gently captured Ari's lips with his own.

When she felt Takuma's lips against hers Ari froze, unsure of what to do. Takuma took care of her indecision for her by gently moving his lips against hers, coaxing her lips to respond to his kiss. When he opened his mouth slightly against hers Ari once again caught the elusive scent that had so entranced her earlier in the day except this time she wasn't smelling it, she was _tasting_ it. She felt herself slowly losing herself in the kiss and her control started to slip as a small smile formed on her lips. With that one little taste of Takuma Ari's resistance crumbled and she reached up and buried her hand in his silky hair giving Takuma all the encouragement he needed to deepen the kiss.

Ari felt Takuma's tongue slide along her bottom lip and she opened her mouth in response. Ari could feel something welling up inside her but pushed it away to focus on what Takuma's mouth and tongue were making her feel. The feeling she had pushed away slowly intensified, though, until it couldn't be ignored any longer. The moment she figured out what was happening was the moment all hell broke loose. She had done the taboo. She had expressed her emotions and they were preparing to attack what made her feel those emotions. Takuma.

A/N: Whew, that was longer than I thought it would be. Please don't kill me *cringes and curls up into fetal position*. I know I just created a huge cliff hanger. I'm on winter break now so I should have plenty of time to update. By the way, did any of you know that you're supposed to put sugar into kool-aid mix? I didn't and it tasted horrible until I realized it needed sugar. So if you review I'll give you kool-aid mix, no sugar though since I used all of mine trying to sweeten my kool-aid XD.


	13. DDay part II

A/N: Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews!

**Important:** I just want to emphasize that Ari and her powers have two separate consciousnesses. Her powers bring out animal-like behavior in Ari. When her powers aren't under her control she completely loses control of herself and is no longer "Ari" in a sense. She is an animal whose only goal is to kill everything around it. If she voluntarily calls her powers up she has some control over what she does but she is still animal-like (as seen in chapter 8). If you don't understand tell me in a review or PM me and I'll try to give a more in depth explanation.

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knights. I do own my OC.

**Unlocking the Gates:**

D-Day: Does the D Stand for Date or Doom Part II

_Previously:_

"_Just one kiss…" Takuma murmured before he leaned down and gently captured Ari's lips with his own. _

_When she felt Takuma's lips against hers Ari froze, unsure of what to do. Takuma took care of her indecision for her by gently moving his lips against hers, coaxing her lips to respond to his kiss. When he opened his mouth slightly against hers Ari once again caught the elusive scent that had so entranced her earlier in the day except this time she wasn't smelling it, she was tasting it. She felt herself slowly losing herself in the kiss and her control started to slip as a small smile formed on her lips. With that one little taste of Takuma Ari's resistance crumbled and she reached up and buried her hand in his silky hair giving Takuma all the encouragement he needed to deepen the kiss. _

_Ari felt Takuma's tongue slide along her bottom lip and she opened her mouth in response. Ari could feel something welling up inside her but pushed it away to focus on what Takuma's mouth and tongue were making her feel. The feeling she had pushed away slowly intensified, though, until it couldn't be ignored any longer. The moment she figured out what was happening was the moment all hell broke loose. She had done the taboo. She had expressed her emotions and they were preparing to attack what made her feel those emotions. Takuma. _

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"Nooooo," Ari screamed as she ripped herself away from Takuma's warm embrace. Pain wracked her body as she fought against the power threatening to spill out of her. She grabbed her head trying to suppress the emotions that were out of her control. Slowly she backed away from Takuma, trying to put as much distance as she could between them.

"Ari! What's wrong?" yelled Takuma as Ari backed away from him.

"Run!" screamed Ari to Takuma. She was able to slightly suppress her powers but they would soon be out of her control. This was the punishment she got for restraining them for so long.

"What?" asked Takuma in confusion.

"Ari, are you alright? Are you in pain? What's going on?" asked Takuma desperately. He didn't understand what was happening.

"Run you idiot!" yelled Ari once again. She was still clutching her head, fighting an internal battle Takuma couldn't see or understand.

Instead of listening to her warning Takuma closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, not realizing that this only worsened Ari's control over her powers.

Takuma's hug was all it took for Ari to completely lose control over her powers. She had been able to keep some control until she felt his arms wrapping around her.

Ari screamed as she felt her consciousness slip away to be replaced by an animal like rage at the being who dared to invade her space and cause her to feel the emotions she had worked so hard to keep under control. Ari felt her soul slowly slip into darkness and be replaced by the beast that dwelled within her.

When Takuma heard Ari's scream of despair he knew something had gone seriously wrong. She immediately stilled after her outburst and Takuma could practically feel the waves of hostility rolling off of her.

"Ari?" asked Takuma hesitantly. Something was very, very wrong.

Takuma felt Ari's muscles twitching beneath his hands and heard a low growl soon after. Ari brought her arms up to Takuma's chest and slowly pushed away from him. When she looked up at him Takuma felt his eyes widen in alarm. Ari's eyes had become completely black obscuring both the whites of her eyes and her iris's. Instead of her usual stoic expression her face had twisted into an expression of hate with smirk twisting her mouth into a sinister smile.

Takuma was frozen in confusion. The waves of hatred coming from her had paralyzed him. This was not the Ari he knew. The only explanation was that Ari's powers had taken control of her, but why?

'The kiss…' thought Takuma with horror. He had felt her lips curving upward into a smile but had been to in the moment to care. She had lost control of her emotions and her powers had taken advantage of her lack of control and taken over her body. All of this information took a split second to process but it was enough time for Ari to take advantage of his momentary distraction.

"Die," snarled Ari as she directed the black shadows that had risen around her while Takuma had been preoccupied. The shadows grabbed hold of Takuma and flung him into a tree at the edge of the clearing.

Takuma slid down the tree and coughed, trying to get his breath back, which had been knocked from his lungs on impact. He could hear maniacal laughter coming from the middle of the clearing. Looking up from his crouched position at the base of the tree he saw Ari with a wide sinister smile on her face, obviously enjoying his pain.

"Ari," said Takuma breathlessly, followed by a coughing fit. Takuma looked down when he felt a wet substance on his palm and saw blood.

Ari once again took advantage of Takuma's distraction and raced across the clearing in the blink of an eye. When she reached him she grabbed him by the neck and lifted him into the air, slamming him back into the tree she had thrown him in.

Takuma stared down at Ari, inwardly debating on what he should do. He didn't have his sword and even if he did he doubted he could use it on Ari.

'What should I do?' thought Takuma as he tried in vain to loosen Ari's grip on his neck. He stared down in her eyes hoping to see at least a spark of the Ari he knew. Her eyes were wild and burning with animalistic pleasure at seeing his pain.

"A..ri," he strangled out, using the last of his breath to try to get her to come back to herself. The only response he got was another growl and tightening of her hold on his neck. He couldn't survive much longer without oxygen.

Takuma brought a leg up and tried to kick her in the stomach but found he couldn't bring himself to actually harm her.

'I can't do it,' he thought.

'I can't harm her because…. because I love her,' thought Takuma with a small smile as he looked down at Ari. Her shadows were dancing around her feet and her face was still a mask of hatred.

Takuma felt her grip on his neck loosen slightly as a look of confusion swept across her face when she saw him smiling at her and her shadows shrunk slightly as she lost her concentration. She quickly shook her head and tightened her grip once again as the hatred returned.

Takuma closed his eyes as darkness started spotting his vision and a roaring noise filled his ears. He was dying and he knew and accepted it.

'Goodbye,' was his last thought before he succumbed to the darkness.

Ari snarled in satisfaction at seeing the man before her slump into unconsciousness. He would no longer bother her with the strange emotions she had been feeling around him. He would no longer touch her and make her long for things she shouldn't want. The animalistic and sadistic side of her would finally be freed from its restraints. She could destroy, maim and kill everything that got in her way.

"Arianna-san, put Ichijo-san down," said a voice to Ari's right. Ari whipped her head around and growled at the female standing there. She had managed to sneak up on her while she was distracted with images of carnage and blood. She let a sinister smile form on her lips as she tightened her hold on the man in front of her in blatant refusal to let go.

"Very well," said Seiran calmly as she crouched down into a fighting stance before launching herself at Ari.

Ari blinked as Seiran disappeared from her sight momentarily only to reappear above her barely giving her time to dodge Seiran's attack. Ari had to drop Takuma to dodge Seiran's attack. She quickly jumped back a few more feet to put more distance between herself and the woman attacking her.

Ari crouched down and growled at Seiran warily. Seiran rushed forward and attacked Ari again. Ari tried to stop her attack by sending her shadows out to grab Seiran but they were easily dodged and soon Seiran was in front of Ari. Seiran delivered a punch into Ari's stomach followed by a swift kick to her head. Ari hit the ground hard and quickly rolled to avoid any other blows. Once Ari had rolled far enough away she leapt to her feet and faced Seiran once again.

Ari felt something wet roll down the side of her face and brought up her hand to wipe it away. When she inspected her hand she found blood smeared across it… _her _blood.

The shadows surrounding Ari grew as Ari's rage grew. This woman had injured her! Ari ran at Seiran in a blind rage sending her shadows out ahead of her to cut down the woman. When Ari saw Seiran dodge all of her shadows her anger continued to grow until Ari's vision turned a hazy red with only one goal in sight, to kill the woman who had dared injure her. Ari and Seiran met with a crash and both were knocked to the ground from the force of their blows. Ari barely registered the pain; all she wanted was to see the woman suffer. Nothing else mattered. Both of them quickly jumped to their feet and attacked each other again, trading blows which were barely visible because of their speed. They continued to attack each other, kicking, punching, biting and scratching, neither gaining the upper hand. Both of them shot apart for a brief moment to catch their breath. Each now had numerous wounds but none of them were to serious, just surface wounds and bruises. Ari had long since stopped using her shadows, she had sunk deep into her animalistic side and all she wanted was to rip and shred with her own two hands. She wanted to feel the blood oozing between her fingers and hear the screams of pain from her opponent. Ari crouched down onto all fours once again and prepared to attack. Both of them launched themselves at each other once again but this time Seiran had a plan in mind. Seiran easily tricked Ari into overextending her reach in an attempt to claw her face and swiftly grabbed Ari's arm. She spun Ari around, pinning Ari's arm behind her, and slammed her into a tree. Ari squirmed around trying to free herself from the restraining hold Seiran had put her in. Her attempts to free herself abruptly stilled when she felt something sharp stab her in the neck and felt a fluid being injected into her body. Seiran kept her in the hold long enough for the tranquilizer to take affect and then abruptly released Ari, letting her fall limply to the ground.

Seiran crouched down next to Ari. Ari's eyes were still open but they were slowly returning to their normal coloring. Once Ari's eyes were back to their normal color her body relaxed completely and her breathing evened out. Her eyes were vacant and mouth slightly agape. Seiran nodded to herself once she was sure the tranquilizer had taken complete effect and ran over to check on Takuma. When she reached Takuma on the other side of the clearing she was relieved to see he was breathing evenly and calmly. He would be fine. If he had died Kaname-sama would have been very upset at losing his best friend

Seiran slowly got up from her crouched position and opened her phone to dial Kaname. She would need help getting both of them back to the Moon Dorm. Once Kaname picked up she quickly explained what had happened and asked for assistance in bringing Ari and Takuma back to Cross Academy. Once she was finished with her call Seiran walked back over to Ari and checked to make sure that there were no serious wounds. By the time she was done checking her over help had arrived in the form of Shiki and Aido.

"Kaname-sama wants you to return to Cross Academy immediately Seiran-san," said Aido after a nod in greeting.

"Hai," said Seiran with a bow.

Aido and Shiki watched her leave the clearing and then turned their attention to Takuma and Ari.

"Who knew she could do so much damage," murmured Aido as he looked around the clearing. There were trees that had been completely knocked over and some which had vampire sized dents in them. When Shiki didn't answer him he looked around, finding him kneeling by Ari's body at the base of the tree with a solemn look on his face.

"Ari will never forgive herself for hurting Takuma," said Shiki sadly as he gently stroked Ari's hair.

"And Takuma will never forgive himself for causing Ari to lose control," said Aido with a shake of his head as he walked towards Takuma. Both of them had been informed of what had happened by Kaname before they left.

"We need to get them back to Cross Academy," said Shiki as he hoisted a zoned out Ari up into his arms.

Aido pulled Takuma over his shoulder and both of them headed back to Cross Academy in silence. Aido didn't even crack any jokes about Ari's drugged up state. Neither knew what punishment Kaname would give Ari for losing control.

After ten minutes they reached Cross Academy and quickly brought them to Kaname's room. Seiran was already there and cleaned up. The doctor that had taken care of Seiran quickly showed Shiki where to lay Ari and went to work once she was arranged to his liking.

"Kaname-sama, what are you going to do with Ari?" asked Shiki nervously.

"I will send her home under house arrest. She will not be allowed to leave home until I am satisfied with her control. I warned her not to lose control," said Kaname without pity. It was at that moment that Takuma decided to wake up from his forced slumber.

"No," came a strangled voice from the chair Aido had put Takuma in.

"Takuma, you need to be quiet, your throat," said Shiki in concern as he walked over to the chair Takuma was sitting in.

"Please Kaname, it was my fault don't punish Ari for something I did," said Takuma before a coughing fit came over him. The doctor quickly rushed over to Takuma and gently checked his neck and ran his hands over Takuma's back. He grabbed a salve from his bag and rubbed it on his neck before going back over to Ari. The doctor stayed quiet the entire time, knowing not to get in the middle of the argument which was sure to come.

"I can't risk her hurting anyone else at Cross Academy," said Kaname firmly as he walked over to Takuma to stand in front of him.

Takuma looked down and frowned, he wasn't going to let this go.

After a few more minutes the doctor walked over to Kaname and bowed "I am finished with the treatment. The girl needs bed rest for 3 days to recover and the boy need bed rest for 1 day," said the doctor before leaving Kaname's room.

Once the doctor was gone Kaname turned back to the still frowning Takuma and sighed.

"Shiki take Ari back to her room, everyone else leave. Takuma stay," said Kaname without removing his gave from Takuma.

"Hai," murmured everyone but Ari, who was still out of it from the tranquilizer. Shiki gently picked Ari up and took her to her room while everyone else went off in different directions out the door. Kaname thought he heard Aido murmur something about needing a drink and Kaname didn't think it had anything to do with blood tablets.

Once everyone was gone Kaname sighed and took a seat in the chair across from Takuma.

"I don't want to do this to her, but I don't have a choice," said Kaname with real regret tingeing his voice.

"Please Kaname," said Takuma pathetically with his head bowed.

"Why do you want her to stay so much?" asked Kaname, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer to that question.

"I-I love her," said Takuma in a choked voice as a tear slowly trickled down his cheek.

Kaname just sighed again and ran his hand through his hair.

"You will be responsible for her Takuma. If she goes on another rampage then you will be the one who is responsible for stopping and killing her if necessary," said Kaname seriously with his fingers steepled in front of him. At his words Takuma's head shot up to look at him with hope which turned to horror when Kaname finished his sentence.

"Is that the only way?" asked Takuma hesitantly.

"Yes, it's the only way I'll allow her to stay at Cross Academy," said Kaname resolutely.

"Okay, I'll do it. If Ari loses control again I will… I will stop her and k-kill her if necessary," said Takuma quietly.

"Go rest now," said Kaname, satisfied with Takuma's promise to stop Ari from hurting anyone else in the future.

"Hai, I'll see you tomorrow," said Takuma as he got up from his chair and headed out the door. On his way to his room he decided to stop by Ari's room and see if she was alright. He hadn't had a chance to make sure for himself. When he got to Ari's room he saw Shiki sitting on Ari's bed, holding her hand while she mumbled something in her drug induced state. Seeing her like this hurt Takuma, knowing he was the cause of her current state.

'All of this is my fault,' thought Takuma as he made his way into Ari's room. Shiki looked up and nodded to him before looking back down at Ari.

"What did Kaname-sama say?" asked Shiki monotonously.

"Ari can stay," said Takuma as he took a seat on Ari's other side.

"On what condition?" asked Shiki, he knew there was a catch.

Takuma had been hoping to avoid telling anyone about the conditions. "If she loses control again I am responsible for stopping her and… killing her if necessary," Takuma said with a cringe.

"Killing her!" said Shiki with rage as he stood up from the bed. "She would be better off going back home! I can't believe you, I thought you loved my sister!" yelled Shiki.

Takuma's breath caught in his throat. He had never told Shiki he loved Ari.

"How did you know I loved her?" asked Takuma.

"Ha, it was obvious from the way you acted around her," said Shiki scornfully.

"You love me?" asked Ari softly, staring at Takuma groggily. Takuma froze at the sound of her voice and Shiki looked down at her. Neither of them had known she had come out of her drug haze.

"I-I…" fumbled Takuma in vain. Before he could admit his love Ari's eyes grew hazy once again and her muscles went lax. Takuma and Shiki stared at her.

"What just happened?" asked Shiki.

"I don't know. I think she woke up but do you think she was actually cognate? Enough that she'll remember what I said?" asked Takuma unsurely and with a bit of fear.

"Who knows?" said Shiki with a shrug and a sigh.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier," said Shiki sadly. He had no desire to quarrel with one of his best friends.

"I deserved it, it's my fault all of this happened," said Takuma remorsefully.

"You're right, it is your fault," said Shiki suddenly, causing Takuma to whip his head around to stare at Shiki. Hadn't Shiki just forgiven him?

"It's your fault Ari's the happiest I've ever seen her," said Shiki in a soft voice.

Takuma's had a startled look on his face as he stared at Shiki. "You did the right thing in keeping her here. She would be miserable back home, especially without you," said Shiki with a small smile.

"I hope I did make the right decision," said Takuma worriedly.

"You did. If anyone can help keep Ari in control of her emotions and powers, you can," said Shiki surely.

"I couldn't stop her back in the forest though," protested Takuma.

"Were you trying to?" asked Shiki.

"No," replied Takuma.

"Then you don't know if you could have stopped her," assured Shiki. Takuma just sighed in response.

"Go get some rest, you've had a rough day. I'll stay with her until she truly falls asleep," said Shiki as he stroked Ari's hair.

"What if she remembers?" asked Takuma.

"Would it really be so bad if she did?" asked Shiki, smiling.

"It depends on if she feels the same," said Takuma with a laugh, his good spirits returning.

"Get some sleep," said Shiki with a laugh as he shooed Takuma out of Ari's room. Once Takuma was out of the room Shiki shut the door firmly and went back to sit beside Ari.

"I hope I don't regret letting you stay here with Takuma," said Shiki before he bent down and tenderly kissed Ari's forehead. Ari shifted slightly and a few minutes later her eyes slowly drifted shut, allowing her to drift into a peaceful slumber.

A/N: Well, I hope you like it. I wonder if Ari will remember Takuma's confession when she wakes up. How will they act around each other now? I loved all the reviews I got for the last chapter. 12 reviews for chapter 12, how about 13 reviews for chapter 13? That would be awesome. Please review!


	14. Confessions

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight but I do own my OC, Ari.

A/N: Almost one-hundred reviews! Thanks so much! I know it's been a while since I last updated and I'm really sorry. School started, my imaginary muse abandoned me in a time of need, tennis season started with 6 am practices, on top of all that I also have laryngitis and … I'm lazy. I'm just curious but how many people actually read my completely pointless A/N's? … crickets chirping… ok then, on with the chapter. I hope I didn't lose any readers from the long wait.

**I'm going to start this chapter off with excerpts from the previous chapter. Just to help you remember what happened last time since it's been so long since I last updated. **

**Unlocking the Gates:**

Confessions

_**Previously:**_

'_The kiss…' thought Takuma with horror. He had felt her lips curving upward into a smile but had been to in the moment to care. She had lost control of her emotions and her powers had taken advantage of her lack of control and taken over her body._

_------------------------------_

_Ari ran at Seiran in a blind rage sending her shadows out ahead of her to cut down the woman. When Ari saw Seiran dodge all of her shadows her anger continued to grow until Ari's vision turned a hazy red with only one goal in sight, to kill the woman who had dared injure her._

_--------------------------------_

"_Who knew she could do so much damage," murmured Aido as he looked around the clearing. There were trees that had been completely knocked over and some which had vampire sized dents in them. When Shiki didn't answer him he looked around, finding him kneeling by Ari's body at the base of the tree with a solemn look on his face._

_----------------------------------_

"_Why do you want her to stay so much?" asked Kaname, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer to that question."I-I love her," said Takuma in a choked voice as a tear slowly trickled down his cheek._

_----------------------------------_

"_You will be responsible for her Takuma. If she goes on another rampage then you will be the one who is responsible for stopping and killing her if necessary,"_

**Present:**

'Ugh… I feel like I've been thrown off the top of a mountain and stampeded by a herd of wild elephants who used their trunks to suck my brain out through my nose then shoved it back in through my ears,' thought Ari groggily as she gradually woke up. She slowly cracked open her sleep caked eyes and peered around the room she was currently occupying.

'What happened? The last thing I remember is Takuma playing with my hair then everything goes blank,' thought Ari anxiously as she sat up in bed and stretched her stiff muscles. She quickly inspected the room and found nothing out of the ordinary.

'I need a bath, I feel disgusting,' thought Ari and swung her legs over the edge of her bed. She stood on unsteady legs and walked slowly to the bathroom.

After a long hot shower Ari finally felt her stiff muscles loosen and her groggy mind clear. She wrapped a towel around herself and walked out of the bathroom contemplating her lack of memories from the night before. Once she reached her dresser she grabbed a brush to untangle her unruly hair and sat down in front of her mirror. While she slowly brushed her hair she thought through everything that had happened the night before but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't remember how she had gotten back to her room.

'Maybe I fell asleep. Takuma was playing with my hair and that always relaxes me. I must have fallen asleep, maybe in an uncomfortable position. That would explain why I'm so stiff. But if I did fall asleep why didn't Takuma wake me up?' wondered Ari as she continued to brush her hair absentmindedly.

'Unless… no, there's no reason why I would have lost control is there?' thought Ari with a shiver of fear. She paused in her brushing momentarily as the thought passed through her mind.

Ari was so caught up in her musings that she didn't realize someone had entered her room. The startled gasp alerted her to her visitor though.

Ari whirled around and saw a blushing and wide-eyed Takuma frozen in the doorway of her room. He seemed to be taking the sight of her dressed only in a towel.

"I-I'll wait outside until you're dressed," stammered Takuma as he came back to his senses and quickly shut the door.

Ari could feel a blush fighting its way onto her cheeks. The blush was intensified by a vision of Takuma leaning in and kissing her, which confused Ari.

'Where did that image come from?' she wondered silently. Shaking her head Ari got up and quickly dressed in the first thing she found in her closet which was a simple black short sleeved dress that came down to the tops of her knees. She didn't bother doing anything with her midnight colored hair and just let it hang loosely down her back. Forgoing shoes she hastily crossed her room and opened the door.

"I'm dressed now Ta… Takuma?" called Ari, looking around outside of her door. He was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go," asked Ari tonelessly. She stepped out of her doorway and looked around in inner confusion. He was just here. Ari continued out here door and walked down the hall in the direction of Takuma's room. But before she could reach Takuma's room Aido and Kain's door suddenly opened and a hand pulled her hastily inside their darkened room. As soon as she was pulled completely inside the door was shut encompassing Ari and her captor in darkness.

"Ari," said two familiar voices in sync.

"Aido... Kain?" asked Ari emotionlessly. Even though they were in a completely dark room she could clearly see their faces due to her vampiric senses.

"What are you doing?" questioned Ari impassively.

"Do you know where Takuma is?" asked Ari with an almost impatient hint in her voice.

Kain and Aido exchanged an uneasy look and then faced Ari once again.

"Do you remember anything from last night?" asked Aido hesitantly.

"No… is there something going on that I should know about?" asked Ari expressionlessly. Deep inside, beneath her emotionless mask, a hint of worry was slowly blossoming at their hesitancy. Kain wasn't one to show much emotion and Aido wasn't one to let many things worry him. So for them to be openly worried about something made Ari very troubled.

"Ari… last night you lost control of your emotions," said Kain without preamble.

"Kain! You can't just say that so bluntly!" argued Aido.

"She needed to know," said Kain without a hint of remorse.

Kain and Aido then turned to a frozen Ari who had not said a word after Kain's blunt explanation for their uneasiness.

"W-what?" asked Ari, her eyes wide.

"Ari," began Aido.

"No… how… did I hurt anyone?" asked Ari in confusion and fear.

"Ari, just calm down, everyone's fine," placated Aido.

"How can I calm down when I know I've hurt someone, you can't lie to me!" Ari practically shrieked as she began to hyperventilate.

"Shit!" cursed Kain uncharacteristically.

"Breathe Ari! Calm down. You have to calm down," said Aido calmly, trying to keep Ari's emotions in check.

"Oh shit, Takuma!" moaned Ari, clutching her head and sinking to her knees as her memories from the night before flooded back to her due to the stress her mind was currently under. Flashes of strangling Takuma and fighting Seiran flashed before her eyes. The last memory she had was of Seiran plunging a syringe into her neck and administering something that made her feel like she was floating. Whatever had been in the syringe had forced her emotions to become nonexistent.

"Ari, you have to calm down. You said you saw Takuma this evening. He was fine! You saw that!" said Aido frantically as he kneeled down next to her and put a comforting hand on her back, trying to calm Ari down before they had a repeat episode of the previous evening. This time it would undoubtedly turn out worse than the night before because of Kaname's new decree.

A sudden knock on their door jolted Aido out of his frantic state but went unheard by Ari who was too far gone into her panic.

"Kain see who it is," ordered Aido impatiently.

Kain quickly walked to the door and opened it a crack. When he saw who it was he immediately threw open the door and rushed the person inside.

"Kain, what's going on? I heard yelling and…" the person trailed off as they got a good look at Ari moaning on the floor holding her head.

"Ari! What happened?" yelled the newest addition to their little party.

"T-Takuma?" mumbled Ari, removing her hands from clutching her head to look up at the familiar voice. Her eyes were swimming in tears that she had yet to let fall.

Takuma immediately joined her on the floor and took her into his arms, urging her to rest her head on his shoulder as he held her.

"Shhh… what's the matter Ari? Why are you so upset? You have to calm down," crooned Takuma soothingly.

"I lost control! I hurt you! I hurt Seiran! I'm going to have to leave you! Kaname-sama won't let me stay here now!" listed Ari in a voice filled with desperation.

Unknown to Takuma and Ari, Kain and Aido had taken Takuma's arrival as a good time to leave. They slipped out quietly with the click of the closing door the only sign they had left.

"It's all right. Everything is fine," murmured Takuma soothingly. "Look, my bruises are already healed and Seiran is fine. You didn't harm her. I convinced Kaname to let you stay," explained Takuma.

"But what if I lose control again?" asked Ari tremulously, lifting her head to stare up into Takuma's eyes.

"I won't let it happen again," said Takuma firmly with a steely glint in his eyes. Ari shook her head.

"You can't guarantee that," mumbled Ari sadly.

"It would be better if I left. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hurt anyone. Especially you, Takuma," murmured Ari gently; placing a hand on his face to reassure herself that he really was all right.

"I-I promised Kaname I w-would stop you if…if you were to lose control again. I will stop you even if I-I have to k-k-kill you," Takuma choked out. He hadn't wanted to tell her that but it was part of his agreement with Kaname. It hurt to tell her and was hard to push the words past his unwilling lips.

"I'll understand if you want to avoid me after this or if you hate me for it, but I couldn't let you go. I'm so selfish," said Takuma as a few tears slowly made their way down his cheeks.

Ari was silent as she absorbed this information. She could feel her emotions slowly sliding back into the cage she kept them locked inside, the news having stunned her. It also brought forth a specific memory that had been shoved to the side due to her worry about everyone she could have hurt during her loss of control.

"Takuma?" asked Ari quietly, her head bowed down so her hair covered her eyes which were his only way of truly gauging her emotions.

"H-hai?" asked Takuma hesitantly, afraid of what she would say to him.

"Did you mean it when you said you loved me?" asked Ari without emotion.

"You remember that," murmured Takuma quietly, surprised at the sudden change of topic. Now he too was hiding his eyes behind his hair as a light blush stained his cheeks.

"You haven't answered my question," said Ari quietly.

"Hai," whispered Takuma, dreading Ari's reaction.

"Why would you love a monster?" whispered Ari coldly.

"Why _wouldn't_ I love someone as kind, beautiful, intelligent, selfless, caring and fun to be around as you?" asked Takuma quietly with a small smile playing on his lips.

"Do you really think all those things of me?" asked Ari, trying to contain the emotions that threatened to escape her control.

"Of course I do," said Takuma with a genuine smile on his face.

"Takuma… I think I may love you too," murmured Ari shyly as she finally lifted her head to show Takuma the happiness present in her eyes.

"But… there's no way we could ever work this out. You have to understand that Takuma. You won't be able to kiss me or anything a normal couple would do. There's too much of a risk," said Ari as sadness clouded the happiness in her eyes.

"We can try, can't we?" asked Takuma with hope in his voice.

"I suppose," said Ari emotionlessly, her eyes showing how unsure she was.

"I won't push you, I promise. I don't want to risk you losing control of your emotions," said Takuma fervently. Both of them avoided thinking of the repercussions of losing control of her emotions again.

"I can't say there's no harm in trying, because there could be. But I want this so much Takuma. I was always alone, until you came along," said Ari with a mixture of happiness and sadness in her eyes.

"Then you're willing to try?" asked Takuma with hope rising in his voice.

"Yes," said Ari emotionlessly but with happiness present in her eyes along with a tinge of apprehension.

With that one word joy filled Takuma's face and he gently pulled her once again into a hug. This time the hug was filled with happiness and joy instead of sorrow and fear. Takuma gently buried his face into the crook of her neck and breathed in her gentle scent hoping he would never have to fulfill his promise to Kaname and destroy the one person he loved above all others.

A/N: This is a bit shorter than some of my other chapters but I thought it was a good place to end it. Did you like the way I formatted the flashback at the beginning of the chapter? Sorry again for the long wait! Don't forget to review please!

I-Eat-My-Vegetables


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